The Justice Team
by Holz9364
Summary: Since he was a Junior Auror Harry has been chasing Draco Malfoy, the guy running a black market under their noses and getting away with it. When he finally catches him he offers him an ultimatum; 10 years in Azkaban or a job running a team of criminal geniuses that have one job; to catch the bad guys by any means possible.
1. The Chase

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 1 - The Chase  
**

Sometimes Harry Potter forgot why he had decided to become an Auror. On days where he was stuck behind a desk filling out forms, or patrolling a Muggle convention to protect the Prime Minister. But then there were days like this when he was standing on a table in a crowded board room about to lead a huge mission that had been months in the planning. As he stood looking out at his team, and his reinforcements, he remembered why he had fallen in love with the job.

The rush he got on field assignments hadn't faded with the years, his blood still started to pump every time.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Harry called, and all eyes in the room were on him. As the room fell silent he began to brief them on a job that was fairly important to him because he had been working it on and off for the past 3 years.

"This job involves Draco Malfoy. He's an upper class aristocrat who we have suspected of running a black market in illegal goods for the past three years. We've never been able to nail him for it because every time we've gotten close the evidence has mysteriously disappeared or he's pulled out a team of lawyers."

Ron was nodding distastefully at the front of the room, he and Harry had been trying to pin Draco's crimes on him since they became fully-fledged Aurors.

"He has contacts everywhere, especially in the Ministry, which means normally he knows when we're planning a raid and can clear out before we get there. But this time we have new information," Harry said, his heart pounding at the thought of finally catching Draco who was always smug while evading capture which riled Harry up all the more, "His girlfriend has informed us that he's operating out of a shop in Knockturn alley disguised to look like it's in a state of ruin. He'll be moving premises tomorrow, so this is our only shot of getting him while he's in this location."

"Sir?" A wizard said.

"Yes," Harry said, glancing to an Auror who had graduated at the same time as him.

"What if it's an ambush?" He asked.

"We considered that possibility and we highly doubt that it is. That's not his style, hes slippery, he doesn't like to get his hands dirty and we doubt he'd try to take on a team of Aurors. At best he has a couple of helpers, and a lot of outside connections."

The man nodded, and Harry continued, "Like I said, he's slippery, so this has to be handled carefully. Teams 2, 3 and 4 are going to surround the storefront. Then my team and I will break the protective charms and slip in under disillusionment charms. If all goes well we will arrest him on the spot, and then teams 2 and 3 will seize his goods while team 4 cover up the press reaction. Any questions?"

There was silence, and no questions so Harry nodded, "Good. Suit up, we leave in 10 minutes from apparition point A."

The room began to empty, leaving Harry with his partner, Ron, and their other two 'junior' team members, Dana Burton and Harrison Bailey.

"You really think we're going to get him?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded, "He's slipped up this time."

"That's what you said the last 4 times," Ron pointed out.

"We'll get him Ron," Harry said darkly, he flicked his head in the direction of the corridor, "Come on, we need to get ready."

Their team was 'Team 1', which in official terms meant that they were the best and they got the elite jobs. However the teams worked together on almost every big job anyway, so it didn't make a difference most of the time. Apart from to Ron's ego.

In 'Changing Room No. 1' where all Aurors had to change their inside shoes for work boots and for big jobs like this put on anti-hex and jinx vests, they talked quietly about the case.

"Why did his girlfriend give him up?" Burton asked, she was classed as a 'junior' Auror because she had only graduated from Auror training last year. She was a fairly attractive young woman, with long dark brown hair that was always pulled into a professional bun, and deep brown eyes.

"Maybe she realised how much of a git he is," Ron pointed out, making Burton and the other 'junior', Bailey, smirk.

Harry rolled his eyes, hiding his own smirk, "Why she gave him up isn't important. Catching him is."

"You really want to get this guy, don't you sir?" Bailey asked as they walked down a cold concrete corridor to the apparition point.

"Auror Potter has some beef with Malfoy," Ron said in amusement.

"So does Auror Weasley," Harry said, "He was our…rival during our Hogwarts years."

"And by rival you mean…" Burton said, trailing off with a smirk.

"Arch-nemesis, yeah," Ron said casually.

"He was my arch-nemesis Ron," Harry said, "He just hated you because you were poor and your family were blood traitors."

"Oi!" Ron remarked.

"It's the truth," Harry smirked as Burton and Bailey sniggered. The concrete corridor then gave way to a large room buzzing with magic that already had a lot of people filling it up, and the light-hearted air between the team and friends was dropped.

"Is this everyone?" Harry asked.

"Yes Sir," The head of Team 2 said. Harry glanced around and after a moment nodded, satisfied everyone was here, "Okay everyone. You know the plan, we disillusion ourselves and apparate a team at a time to the hidden courtyard in the old inn at Knockturn Alley. The moment we get there we assume our positions. Remember this case requires us to bring back Malfoy in one piece, no lethal spells are permitted under any circumstances."

Another round of nods made their way around the group of people tightly packed in the room then Harry gave the order for the apparition to start. He and his team began, disillusioning themselves and apparating away. They kept watch as Teams 2, 3 and 4 trickled into the courtyard under disillusionment charms. They all took their positions around the shop-front of Draco's hideout.

From a distance Team 1 ran a diagnostic charm, which told them every single enchantment on the miserable place. They weren't at all surprised to find that there were over 20, and then they set about breaking them, but this was the hard part. They had to act fast, or Draco would realise what they were up to and flee before they could catch him. For that reason the moment they broke through enough charms to do so they put up anti-apparition wards on the hide-out.

After only 10 minutes the extensive charms on the place had been broken, and it was time to go in. Harry gave his team the go ahead through a series of taps on their shoulders and they made their way to the door and slipped in quietly to a large square room lined with illegal potions ingredients, dark magic artefacts and second-hand, unregistered broomsticks. In the midst of it all was Draco Malfoy, looking suave in an expensive black suit as he spoke to a customer.

The charms came off, and Harry shouted out words he had wanted to shout for years, "This is an Auror Raid! Nobody is permitted to leave these premises! Draco Malfoy, I am arresting you on possession of illegal potion ingredients, dark magic artefacts and for illicit trading in broomsticks!"

He no longer looked smug, the grin had been wiped entirely from his face. It gave Harry great pleasure to know that he had not been expecting this at all as he bound Draco's hands and took his wand from his pocket.

"I told you the law would catch up with you one day Malfoy," Harry said.

"How did you even find me here?" Draco asked.

Dressed in fur robes, and looking the part of an upper class aristocrat's partner, Draco's girlfriend stepped forward and said firmly, "I told them you were here."

"Wh…what?" Draco asked in shock.

"I find it hilarious Malfoy," Harry said, "That after 3 years of trying to catch you, and 3 years of you slipping through our fingers like the snake you are, in the end it was your own girlfriend who gave you up."

"What does that say about him mate?" Ron asked with a grin.

"Apart from that he has terrible taste in women?" Harry joked.

"Oh you're loving this Potter," Draco spat.

"Having you bound and under the will of the law?" Harry asked sarcastically, "Now why would I possibly enjoy that?"

"You won't get me," Draco said, "My lawyers will be swarming on your office the moment they find out you have arrested me."

"I don't doubt it," Harry said, "But even your lawyers won't get you out of this one Malfoy. You can't worm your way out of the fact we have caught you red-handed on premises that are in _your_ name. To make matters worse, with stock that we know you signed for upon delivery because we have both the paperwork and the delivery wizard's confession and memory of the event."

Draco's face had paled even further as he realised the true seriousness of his situation, "Why would you do this Tracey?" he asked his dark-haired girlfriend angrily.

Tracey, his girlfriend, narrowed her eyes at him, "I overheard your conversation with Fletcher, Draco! You pawned the engagement ring you were going to give me for some stupid antique! You deserve all you get, you selfish bastard!"

Draco's eyes widened, and Ron, Bailey and Burton tried not to snigger as this reason was revealed. Harry of course had already known this so merely smirked at Draco, "Come on Malfoy, we're taking you back to the Ministry for questioning."

Draco couldn't hide his look of distaste as Harry gripped one of his shoulders, and Ron gripped the other. Together they steered him out of the old shop to cheers and applause from Teams 2, 3 and 4.

* * *

When Harry walked into the interrogation room where Draco was being held he felt nervous which was rare for him. Every aspect of this case had been in the planning process for the last 3 months, and two weeks ago when Draco's girlfriend had come forward, things had heated up. At that point there was a meeting about what to do with him when they caught him, assuming they _did_ catch him.

Harry had been nominated as the person to dish out his options to him, being an expert in interrogation as well as field work. He didn't have a rule book to his interrogations per say, but he had to make sure he offered the right options or his job was on the line. This case was too big to let Draco slip through their fingers again.

As Harry took his seat opposite Draco, the former Slytherin tapped his fingers impatiently on the table and tried to hide behind his smug façade. However it was now well and truly cracked, and no amount of acting could hide his pale pallor or the anxiety in his eyes.

"Good afternoon Mr. Malfoy," Harry said politely.

"Where are my lawyers?" Draco asked briskly.

"They are next door with Auror Weasley, discussing your rather dismal situation," Harry replied.

Draco snorted, "Weasley? He's still your sidekick, after all of these years."

"And Crabbe and Goyle weren't yours?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

Draco didn't say anything, Harry continued, "All heroes need sidekicks, but then again, so do all villains."

"You think I'm a villain?" Draco asked in vague amusement.

"Well you are in a holding room with some pretty serious charges against your name," Harry pointed out.

"Charges that will not be upheld," Draco added.

"Need I remind you how serious this is?" Harry asked as he placed some documents on the table, "This is the deed granting the premises we found you in to you, from your Father. Signed by both he, and you."

"So?" Draco asked, "I own the place, I admit that. I was just shopping there."

"Even if that were true, we would still find it very suspicious that you just happened to be shopping in a black market in premises that you own when you have been arrested over 10 times in the last three years for charges relating to the running of a black market," Harry said matter of factly.

"Potter, I've had enough of you throwing accusations at me," Draco drawled, "I demand to speak to the Head of Department."

"You're talking to him," Harry said.

Draco gave him a disbelieving look, "I keep up with current affairs Potter, I believe it would make front page news if you were appointed as Head Auror. You are not the head of this department."

"I'm not Head Auror," Harry agreed, "But the Head Auror is on leave due to an injury sustained in the field which means that as assistant Head, I am now the acting Head Auror until he returns. You don't get any higher up in the Auror department than me Malfoy."

"Fantastic," Draco said dryly.

"Look, the way I see it right now, you have two options," Harry said, "Option 1 is your lawyers do all they can, but you still go down for this. You're looking at 10 years in Azkaban at the least."

"And what is option 2?" Draco asked sarcastically, "The easy way?"

"It's certainly the easier way," Harry said, "You confess to all charges against you and work for us. We drop all charges and you can carry on with your life."

"Work for you?" Draco asked in disbelief, "You must be joking Potter."

"I'm not," Harry said, "We are in the process of setting up a new department which my superiors want you to be the Head of."

"So this goes way above your head," Draco said as he leant back in his chair, "And you hate the idea, don't you?" he asked, smirking slightly.

"Of course I hate it. I want you to pay for your crimes, not get off scot free," Harry said.

"So, for interest's sake," Draco said as he leant forward again, "What exactly is this department?"

Harry smirked, he knew that Draco would react this way, "It isn't really undercover…but it's not exactly official. There are some people, like you, that we can't touch for political or diplomatic reasons. Some of these people have done much worse than run a black market and they get away with it because of our rules and regulations."

Draco narrowed his eyes, and Harry continued, "Our new department has one goal, to get these bastards by any means and bring them to us so we can prosecute them."

"And why do you think I would want any part in that?" Draco asked.

Harry frowned and studied Draco for a moment, which clearly made him feel uncomfortable, "Ever since I got your case three years ago, I've wanted to ask you one question when I finally caught you. Do you know what that is Malfoy?"

"I don't know, nor do I care Potter," Draco drawled.

Harry sighed, "Given everything you've seen Malfoy, and everything that has happened to your family…Why choose the same path of self-destruction that they did?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about Potter," Draco bluffed.

"I've read your file Malfoy," Harry said, "I know everything about you. Abused by your Father as a child and taken out of his custody until he proved he was capable of looking after you, covered up with a bribe."

Draco's face began to pale, and Harry continued, "Used by Voldemort in an attempt to get you killed and embarrass your family, and then outcast because you attempted to kill Dumbledore…tortured by Voldemort, leaving you with-"

He opened the file in front of him and continued, "Fractured bones and a mild case of post-traumatic stress. Then there was the war, you were tried as a war criminal and received 20 hours of community service for crimes committed, those were torture and attempted murder, one against Muggles and the other against Dumbledore," he chanced a glance at Draco who now looked white as a ghost.

"Your Mother and Father both received 10 to 15 year jail sentences on which their early release could be negotiated for good behaviour," Harry said, "After 2 months your Mother was found hanging in her cell, and then less than 6 months later your Father jumped into the sea and drowned himself while on route from his cell to the bathroom."

Harry shut the file hard and Draco jumped, "So Malfoy, with a family completely wrecked because of their criminal lifestyle. Why choose to go down that same path?"

Draco was silent for a moment, his eyes boring into the table, "That's none of your business Potter," he said weakly.

"Why didn't you try to redeem yourself? You could have done so very easily," Harry said, "You saved my life, why didn't you play on that?"

"Redeem myself?" Draco asked in disbelief, "In whose eyes? Yours? The Ministry's? No matter what I did I would still have been seen as the war criminal son of Lucius Malfoy."

"So you chose the easy way out," Harry said, "And stuck to what you knew, being a criminal."

"I didn't choose anything Potter," Draco said, "People like me don't have much in the way of career choices."

"Well I'm giving you one," Harry said, "You didn't really want to be a bad guy. If you did why did you help me in the war? Why did you look like you were close to tears when Hermione was being tortured? I'm giving you a way out Malfoy, a way to help people. It also happens to pay 2,000 Galleons a year."

"2,000?" Draco asked in surprise.

"It's nothing compared to what Aurors at the top of their game get paid, but it's not far off your illegal earnings," Harry said, "And you get free health care."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Does that come with the package for a reason?"

Harry smiled slightly, "Everyone in this department gets free health care Malfoy, it's a gift for risking your life every day."

"Who's going to be on this team?" Draco asked, surveying Harry with interest now.

"We have a few people in mind. Criminal geniuses mostly who we don't think should waste their talents in Azkaban," Harry said.

"You think I'm a criminal genius?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow and the hint of a smile, "I'll take that as a compliment Potter."

"I don't think you're a criminal genius, my superiors do," Harry said as he got to his feet, "Auror Weasley has just explained everything to your lawyers and when they come in here in 5 minutes time I assure you, they will be of the same opinion as my department. You're far better off joining us than fighting us."

* * *

"Do you really think he'll agree?" Ron asked Harry as they sat in their teams 'office' with Bailey and Burton.

Harry frowned as he looked at the door of the holding room where Draco was currently talking with his lawyers, "I think he knows it's his only way out."

"Do you agree with this new department sir?" Burton asked, her observant eyes seeing right through him as they did with the criminals they brought in.

Harry sighed, "I don't necessarily agree with the fact criminals are getting to walk away with no consequences because of it. I do understand however why the department feel the need to utilise the brains of these people whose talent would otherwise be wasted."

"That's a very political answer Sir," Bailey said.

"It's a very political game," Harry countered.

Ron sighed, "I don't think it's right. Giving Malfoy the chance to work with us, how do we know he won't betray us at the first chance he gets?"

"He won't be able to," Burton said with a sly grin, "Harrison and I have been working on a plan that should hopefully prevent it."

"Well Dana has been working on it, I've just been helping," Bailey added.

"Sounds about right," Harry said in amusement, "What is it?"

"It's a mark imbued with magic that is imprinted into the skin. It's an 'M' in the style of the M on the Ministry logo. It will alert us if he's anywhere he shouldn't be because it can be programmed to respond to certain places or people," Burton explained.

"Convincing him to take that will be near impossible Dana," Harry said, and Ron nodded in agreement.

"Is it by any chance based on the case study you did in Auror training about the Dark Mark?" Ron asked.

Dana nodded, cringing slightly, "Right…I didn't think of that. Of course, ex-Death Eaters are going to be sceptical about something permanently being burned onto their skin."

"Yes," Harry said, "Can't you do the same thing through another means? Because it's an ingenious idea."

Burton blushed slightly, and Bailey cut in, "It's not easy to transfer the magic to another object. The mark was the best idea because it can't be removed or hijacked like a bracelet or an ankle cuff."

"So we convince him to take it? That's our only choice?" Harry asked.

Burton and Bailey both nodded, and Ron said under his breath, "I think we should knock him out and then burn it onto his undeserving arse."

Harry smirked and said, "Mate, this is why I got put on liaison with Malfoy, assuming he accepts the offer, and you didn't."

"You think I wanted the job?" Ron asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry smiled slightly, "I know you didn't, but then again..I didn't particularly want it either."

"I don't think anyone does," Bailey added.

"It's a shame really," Harry said, "Malfoy's not all bad."

"And that is why you are assigned to him," Burton said with a smile, "Because nobody else would say that."

"He saved my life in the war, he didn't have to do that," Harry said, defending his former enemy.

"But does that really forgive the 7 years he spent tormenting you for being a Gryffindor, and for not having any parents, and for, well pretty much everything?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged, "We were kids Ron. He was a nasty bully, does that mean he has to have a miserable life? You have to remember that all bullies are insecure for a reason and his childhood was almost as traumatic as mine."

"Did he get locked in cupboards and hit with frying pans too?" Bailey asked sarcastically.

Harry chuckled, "Shut up Harrison," he said half-heartedly.

Bailey smirked and pointed to the door behind Harry, "You're needed with your new assignment."

One of the lawyers was waving Harry over, so without another word to his team he got to his feet and crossed the office to where the man stood.

"Our client has made a decision," The stout man said.

Harry nodded, "And?"

"He wants the full terms and conditions of the agreement, and to see the contract," The lawyer said.

"So he agrees?" Harry asked.

"He realises an agreement is his only way to avoid jail-time," The man said.

Harry nodded, "Okay, can I talk to him?"

The lawyer nodded, "He is willing to confess once he has heard the full terms and conditions and seen the contract."

"Then I'll give him the terms and conditions now, and I'll show him the contract," Harry said as he waved a folder in front of the man irritably, he hated lawyers.

* * *

"Potter," Draco said, almost politely.

"Have your lawyers told you to be nice to me Mr. Malfoy?" Harry asked in amusement.

"Perhaps," Draco said with narrowed eyes, "Why have I not seen a single Auror, apart from you, since I arrived here Potter?"

"Because," Harry said as he sat down, "I'm assigned to you."

"Assigned to me?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nobody else wanted to deal with you Malfoy, for some reason my superiors thought I was the best person to do so," Harry said as he opened the file in his hands.

"Your superiors really like to rile you up, don't they?" Draco asked.

"You noticed?" Harry asked sarcastically, "Your lawyers said you wanted to see the contract. This is it," he said as he slid it across the table.

Draco examined the contract, his eyes skimming over everything, including the small print. When he looked up again he didn't look happy.

"I have to work in this department for 10 years?" He asked with distaste.

"The same amount of time you would serve in Azkaban," Harry said.

"10 years? How is that any different from a prison sentence?"

"Well, you get to keep your estate, and you get paid. You also get to leave whenever you want, and considering we are in an economy crippled by war, you have a secure job for 10 years," Harry said.

Draco narrowed his eyes and looked back down to the contract, after a few moments he looked up with steely eyes, "What is this?" he hissed, pointing to the smallest of the small-print.

"There has to be a degree of trust Malfoy. Just because we're giving you this job doesn't mean we trust you," Harry said, "As you've been tried as a war criminal the department understands that you could betray us quite easily. Some of the things that go on around here are more classified than what they do in the Department of Mysteries."

"Really Potter?" Malfoy asked in disbelief.

"Really," Harry said seriously, "Some of the cases we work on are top secret. Do you know what the highest security clearance level in the Ministry is?"

"Level 6, or 'Secret' as its otherwise known," Draco said.

"Well my clearance level is 7, otherwise known as 'Top Secret' and if you sign that contract yours will be too," Harry said honestly, "Can you understand the need for security now?"

Draco sighed, "But a mark? Is there no other option?"

"Anything else can be removed or hijacked," Harry said, "A mark is the only way I'm afraid."

"Where will it be?" Draco asked.

"Somewhere that is normally hidden beneath your clothes so it can't be seen when you go undercover," Harry said casually.

"Where under my clothes?" Draco asked with narrowed eyes.

"I don't know," Harry said honestly, "You'd have to ask my junior Aurors, they are the ones who invented the mark."

"I've no idea where they got the idea from," Draco said sarcastically.

"I knew you'd be sceptical, and I don't blame you," Harry said, "But its part of the agreement. The mark, and the job, or Azkaban."

"Yes Potter, I'm aware of that. You don't have to constantly remind me," Draco said bitterly.

"So?" Harry asked.

Draco was silent.

"Are there any other terms you want explained to you?"

"How does this team work?" Draco asked, "Who chooses my team members?"

"My department and I will make suggestions, but it's your department and as head you get the final say in who joins your team," Harry answered.

"Hmm," Draco said thoughtfully, "And all you want me to do is hunt down criminals and bring them to 'justice' in any way I can?"

"You can be as unethical as you like, as long as you bring them to us alive," Harry said.

"Okay," Draco said after a moment of consideration, "It's better than prison."

"You have to confess first," Harry reminded Draco as he slid a piece of parchment across the table.

"I just have to write it down?"

"No, you have to say it out loud too," Harry said, not able to hide his smirk.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Fine, I wasn't shopping there. It was my black market, and I want compensation for the goods you seized."

"I'm pretty sure insurance companies don't cover illegal, stolen goods Malfoy. Write your confession down and sign on the dotted line," Harry said smoothly.

Without another word, Draco sighed and did so, handing the confession to Harry.

"All charges will be dropped," Harry then assured him, "And the public will want an answer so we will tell them you have received community service and are redeeming yourself for your crimes by rehabilitating yourself into civilised society."

Draco snorted, "The illegal world isn't entirely uncivilised Potter."

"I know that," Harry said, "But the public don't. Are you going to sign that contract?"

Draco nodded, but his hand was still poised over the dotted line, he sighed and signed his name neatly, "I feel like I'm signing my life away."

"Only 10 years of it," Harry said happily as he took the contract and the confession and put them in his file, "Welcome to the justice team Malfoy," he said, holding his hand out to the former Slytherin.

Draco reached out and took Harry's hand, shaking it tentatively, "Déjà vu."

Harry only smiled and said, "Once this is processed you'll be able to leave. You start on Monday."

 **TBC :)  
**

 **A/N: So this is based on a few different things. The team of misfits idea comes from the tv show 'Scorpion' but the criminals working for the law to bring down serious bad guys comes from the British tv show 'By Any Means'. Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it! :)**


	2. Welcome to the Team

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 2 - Welcome to the Team  
**

"Where the hell do you intend to put that thing?"

Burton and Bailey shared a glance, and Harry raised an eyebrow at the man who was standing in the doorway, "Good morning, Malfoy."

Draco walked into the room, shutting the door behind him, "Good morning, Potter."

"Meet Junior Auror Dana Burton, and Junior Auror Harrison Bailey," Harry said with a slight smile, "They are the brains behind our team."

"What does that make you, Potter?" Draco asked smoothly.

"The leader," Harry said honestly.

"You like to boss other people around, don't you?" Draco asked with a smirk, "You have done ever since Weasley started following you around, and look, all these years later he still is."

Ron had just entered the room, eyeing Draco warily.

Harry ignored the comment, "Ron, you're late."

"Sorry, Hermione had an appointment," Ron said, "I was just dropping her off."

"So you and Granger really are a thing then?" Draco asked as he sat down on the hospital bed in the little lab-type room, "There was me thinking she had brains, and taste."

Ron's ears went red, and Harry said sharply, "Malfoy, shut up."

"Control your assignment, Harry," Ron muttered as he kept to the other side of the room.

Draco just smirked, and Burton said, "Okay Mr. Malfoy, the procedure will only take a few moments and it might sting a little but it shouldn't hurt. Rather like the-"

Harry shook his head, so she cut herself off, looking sheepish.

"The Dark Mark?" Draco asked smoothly, "No, that was supposed to hurt, it was his way of proving a point."

"Well this won't," Burton said with a smile, "Like I said it might sting a little."

"And where exactly do you intend to put it?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes at the pretty young Auror.

Harry smirked, "Well we were going to put it on your arse Malfoy. But we figured too many people kiss it as it is."

Draco rolled his eyes, "How very unprofessional of you, Potter."

Ron grinned and said, "No, it would be unprofessional if we stayed to watch you get something burned into a very private part."

"And since we are very professional," Harry added, "We are going to leave you, and your private parts, in the very capable hands of Junior Auror Burton."

Bailey sniggered as he walked towards the door with Harry and Ron. Draco's face had paled considerably, "You're letting her burn something into my private parts? She isn't even fully qualified!"

Harry and Ron shared a grin, "Good luck, Malfoy," Ron said wickedly as the three men left the room.

"Do you think he'll cry?" Bailey asked in amusement as they walked down the corridor to their office.

"No, but I expect he might-"

Harry's words were cut off by a very girlish scream from the lab room down the hall. The three men tried to contain themselves, but when Harry caught Ron's eye they both began to laugh uncontrollably.

* * *

When Harry reconvened with Draco after his procedure was over, it was to show him to his new office and help him pick his new team members. He walked into the lab and smiled slightly at Draco who was gingerly pushing himself to his feet.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

Draco shot him a glare, "What was the point of _that_?" he asked.

Harry leant in the doorway, "It will tell us if you are in any dodgy locations. Anywhere you shouldn't be, or places that are known to have criminal activity associated with them."

"Potter, you've asked me to work for you," Draco said in disbelief, "If you want me to track down criminals I will be in dodgy bloody locations!"

"Yes, but we'll know if you are there during work hours or in the middle of the night," Harry pointed out simply, "Now we really have to get a move on. I need to show you to your new office."

Harry smirked as Draco walked towards him stiffly, wincing as he did so, "Your Junior Auror is a liar."

"Hurt more than you thought it would, Malfoy?" Harry asked in amusement as they walked along a long, concrete corridor.

"I've had the cruciatus curse used on me, and that hurt more," Draco said coldly.

"Well I don't expect you've ever had the cruciatus curse used _there,_ " Harry pointed out, "Unless you've really pissed off any ex-girlfriends."

"Sounds like you know from experience, Potter," Draco joked.

"Ginny Weasley," Harry said, wincing at the thought, "Bad break-up."

"Well you did cheat on her with the Slytherin ice queen," Draco pointed out with a smirk.

"Not true," Harry said as they entered a dingy, damp smelling concrete stairwell and made their way down, "The press just said that I had. We were working on a case together, it was an undercover job."

"So she does work for you," Draco said, "I suspected it, but she never confirmed anything."

"Only special jobs, and we pay her a fortune to do them," Harry said, "I suppose it was my own fault about Ginny, I probably should have told her about the case."

"Why?" Draco asked with a frown, "It would have been top secret, surely?"

"It was," Harry said honestly, "But the target we were trying so hard to arrest was her brother."

"Ah," Draco said in realisation, "So that's why Charlie Weasley vanished off the face of the Earth. Did you put him in Azkaban?"

"Not exactly," Harry replied as they reached a stainless steel door. He pushed it open and they walked into a large basement, it was set up with desks, chairs, sofa's and even a small kitchen at the back, "Here's your office, Malfoy."

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, "A basement that stinks of damp?"

"We thought you'd feel at home," Harry said with a smirk, "Looks rather like the Slytherin common room after all."

"I won't even ask how you know what the Slytherin common room looks like," Draco said dryly, "Oh look, there's even a lake at the back," he added sarcastically.

"Yeah," Harry said sheepishly, "We've got magical maintenance coming down tonight to give it a clean out and stop the leaks, but you'll have to make do till then."

"Great," Draco muttered as he sat down heavily on a moth-eaten sofa.

Harry smiled slightly and sat down at the largest desk, "If you want a say in your team members you better get over here."

Draco crossed the room and sat down across from Harry at the desk, "How many do I have to pick?"

"Three," Harry said, "And I've got 10 possible people in this file," he added as he opened it up.

"And I have to pick three of them?" Draco asked.

Harry nodded, "Candidate number 1 is Marcus Flint, former Slytherin as I'm sure you well know. He is 30 years old, known crimes involve trading on the black market and-"

"No," Draco said simply, "Too old, and not anywhere near unique."

"Good," Harry smiled, "I hoped you'd say that. Candidate 2 is Adrian Pucey, also a former Slytherin. He is 28 years old, known crimes include fraud and-"

"No," Draco said again, "He's a bit on the old side too, and besides that one big fraud gig he got he hasn't done much. That wasn't even him anyway, I know the genius behind that, Pucey just got paid to take the fall."

Now smirking slightly Harry said, "You're pretty good at this," he discarded the file, "For the record, I agree with both those decisions."

"I never thought I'd see the day we agreed on anything Potter," Draco said with a raised eyebrow.

"Miracles do happen," Harry retorted, "Candidate 3 is Daniel Riva, a former Hufflepuff of 24 years of age. He is known as an art thief and faker in the criminal underworld, engineered the big heist of 1999-"

"Put him in the maybe pile," Draco said a little distastefully, "If his achievements are correct then he's a consideration. However given the loyalty and general attitude of Hufflepuffs I suspect he's just a pawn in somebody else's game."

With a nod Harry put the file to one side, "Candidate 4 is Eddie Carmichael, a former Ravenclaw of 26 years of age. He is mostly known for his illegal brewing and selling of potions, and the illegal import and export of potion ingredients. He's made jaunts into fraud and art theft too, he was part of the duo who stole the old atrium statue after the war and defaced it as a statement."

Draco was nodding thoughtfully, "My sources tell me he's the real thing. I know the guy he did that job with, I hope he's in your pile somewhere."

"I suspect he is," Harry said honestly, "So are you saying yes to him?"

"I'm saying maybe," Draco said so Harry put the file on top of Daniel Riva's.

"Candidate 5 is Stewart Ackerley, also a former Ravenclaw, 23 years of age. Known for his-"

Draco scoffed, "Bin it, he's a wannabe. Public protests and hunger strikes? He's not a criminal."

"I thought you might say that," Harry said as he discarded the file with a smirk, "Which brings us onto candidate number 6, Marcus Belby, again a former Ravenclaw. He is 26 years old and he's involved in the illegal potions business-"

"Too soft," Draco said quickly, "I knew enough of him at school to judge that."

"People have changed since Hogwarts, Malfoy," Harry pointed out as he discarded the file.

"Not that much," Draco said simply, "Who's next?"

Harry shook his head slightly in amusement and exasperation, "Candidate 7 is Charlie Weasley, former Gryffindor and 32 years of age."

Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry, "Weasley?"

Harry nodded, "Arrested for dragon smuggling, as you probably know. He escaped time in Azkaban, but he won't be able to find respectable employment now. He was involved in the great smuggling ring that spanned the globe, operated out of Europe with a couple of others."

"Dragon smuggling? Why do I need a dragon smuggler on my team?" Draco asked in disbelief, "What good would that do me?"

"Well he has connections globally," Harry said, "And he has an understanding of the illegal world concerning magical creatures, you can't just pick people who have the most impressive skills Malfoy, you need a balance."

"I may need a balance, but I don't need a Weasley, discard him," Draco said, a steely look in his eyes.

Harry sighed and discarded the file, "Bear in mind you really ought to pick someone with some knowledge of the Muggle world. Some jobs will require going undercover there."

"I'm aware of that," Draco drawled, "Who's the next candidate?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Candidate 8 is Daphne Greengrass, former Slytherin of 25 years of age-"

"Yes," Draco said simply.

Harry looked at Draco in amusement, "Really?"

Draco smirked, "I know she's the real deal. She's intelligent, and incredibly sneaky."

"I assume you know why she's on this list then," Harry said in amusement.

"I suspect the fact her last three boyfriends all died mysterious deaths has something to do with it," Draco drawled.

"Possibly," Harry said, "For the record I'd recommend her. I've worked with her personally, she's professional and very good when it comes to working undercover."

"I don't need your recommendation," Draco said smoothly, "She's on my team."

"Alright," Harry said, placing the file as the first in the resolutely 'yes' pile.

"Is the next candidate Theodore Nott, by any chance?" Draco asked, "Because if it isn't it should be."

Harry smiled a little, "Yes, the 25 year old former Slytherin. Known for engineering several art heists, and as one of the few wizards to ever orchestrate a successful break in to Gringotts. He never gets caught, someone else always takes the blame for him."

"Like Pucey and Riva," Draco said with a smirk, "They didn't do what they claim to have done, he did."

"What about Carmichael?" Harry asked curiously.

"They really did work together, Carmichael has some potential," Draco admitted, "But it's a definite yes to Theodore Nott. He's a genius, and what you know he's pulled off is only a fraction of what he's actually pulled off."

"That doesn't surprise me," Harry said honestly as he put the file on top of Daphne Greengrass's, "You can't pick a team of only Slytherins you know, that's very biased."

"I can't help it that the only people with potential on your list are Slytherins," Draco said slightly smugly.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the man, "Our last candidate is a Gryffindor and I highly recommend you consider him. He's 24 years old and he's called Neville Longbottom."

"Fatbottom?" Draco snorted, "Are you serious? He couldn't commit a crime if his life depended on it!"

Harry shot the blonde-haired man a glare, "He worked as an Auror up until May 2004 when he was struck off for killing a Death Eater on the job. Ever since then he's been doing illegal jobs for the department, off the record obviously."

Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry, "I've just agreed to hire one person who is the known son of a Death Eater, and another whose family was associated with the Death Eaters. I myself _am_ an ex-Death Eater, and you expect me to hire somebody who got fired for killing a Death Eater on the job?'

Harry smiled slightly, "Yes."

"Why on earth would I do that Potter?" Draco asked, eyeing Harry as if he was insane.

"There are several reasons, first and foremost he's good. He was trained as an Auror, you won't find someone as good as him in combat, his tracking skills are better than any Auror I've ever seen. He may have killed that Death Eater, but it was for personal reasons so you won't need to fear for your own safety."

Draco eyed Harry curiously, "I'll humour you by considering him if you tell me what these illegal jobs you've had him doing are."

A hint of a smile came to Harry's face, "He's completely infiltrated himself into the underground black market, he's part of the reason you're here thanks to a tip he gave us. Combined with your rather unsuccessful love life, and the tip from your now ex-girlfriend, I presume."

Draco shot him a glare, "Yes, she is my ex-girlfriend. What else has he done?"

"What we want you to do, he's been bringing in people we can't touch. He kidnapped a politician last week," Harry added in amusement.

"If he's so good why am I leading this team, not him?" Draco asked, leaning back in his chair and surveying Harry.

"Honestly?" Harry said, "Because we need someone without too much of a moral compass to call the shots. That's also why you need him on your team however, with three Slytherins you need someone with a moral compass, it just wouldn't be wise to put him in charge."

Draco was clearly thinking about it, "Neville Longbottom…I can't see past the fumbling fool we went to school with."

"The fumbling fool who beheaded a giant snake you mean?" Harry asked in amusement, "That's far cooler than anything I recall you doing in the final battle, Malfoy. Running away seems to be your area of expertise actually."

With another glare in Harry's direction Draco said, "Add him to the maybe pile, and discard Riva from it."

Harry did so, laying his two options in front of him, "Neville Longbottom or Eddie Carmichael."

"Is there a set rule saying I can only have 3 other members on this team?" Draco asked as he surveyed the two files, "I want them both."

"You can only have 5 people on this team," Harry told him, "So if you want them both, you can have them both. But you can't recruit anyone else."

"Done," Draco said, picking up the two files and putting them in his 'yes' pile, "I have my team."

"There is just one slight problem," Harry pointed out as he glanced to the clock, it was nearing lunch time and they still had a lot of work to do.

"There's always a catch with you, Potter," Draco said dryly.

"These people may agree to this team, but chances are we're going to have to give them an ultimatum, like we did with you," Harry pointed out, "Neville is desperate for that adrenaline rush of catching bad guys, and this is going to be a godsend compared to what we pay him for his illegal jobs. He'll take it in a heartbeat, I don't think he'll even care about the Slytherin aspect."

"If we recruit Theo, then we recruit Carmichael," Draco said thoughtfully, "Carmichael is basically just his sidekick, Theo's far better, but Carmichael idolises him."

"So if we arrest one, we'll find the other in the same place?" Harry asked.

"More than likely," Draco said, looking at the other file, that of Daphne.

"And what do we do about Greengrass? She's on our radar because she's done jobs for us before, but I can't see her agreeing to this," Harry said.

"No," Draco agreed, "She wouldn't. But I happen to have evidence on the death of Blaise Zabini that incriminates her. If I provide you with that you can arrest her, and she'll choose this over prison."

"She'll also kill you for giving her up," Harry pointed out.

"No, she won't," Draco smirked, "She can hurt me all she wants. But kill me? She wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for me, she _can't_ kill me. Life debts are a wonderful thing."

Harry smirked back, "Oh I know all about life debts," he said, "You still owe me one if I remember."

"I haven't forgotten," Draco said dryly.

Harry grinned, "Come on then Malfoy, let's get some lunch and get on with this. We've got four team members to recruit before 5pm."

"Are you always this upbeat about crime?" Draco asked as they left the basement together.

Harry's grin widened, "Of course I am, I'm an Auror!"

Draco rolled his eyes, "This is the next 10 years of my bloody life, working with you. I'm starting to think Azkaban was a better option."

"If it gets too much you can always transfer there," Harry joked, patting Draco on the back as he shut the steel door to the basement.

"So it begins," Draco muttered under his breath.

Harry heard him and said, "Oh admit it, you're excited about this really. You always wanted to become an Auror."

Draco snorted, "I don't know where you get your information from Potter, but your sources are incredibly wrong."

Harry shot Draco a smirk and Draco rolled his eyes. They made their way back into the main department together, and Draco had to admit, this wasn't as bad as prison. In fact, it might even be quite enjoyable.

* * *

"Who lives in this dump? Carmichael?" Draco asked as he and Harry stood outside an old tenement building that was falling apart.

"Neville," Harry said darkly, "The Ministry doesn't pay you off with a huge amount after your murder someone."

"I can't imagine why," Draco remarked as they walked into the dingy stairwell that stunk of damp, he felt incredibly out of place in his black suit.

"Our next stop is Diagon Alley," Harry said, noticing Draco's discomfort, "You can't dress like that, your way out of place in the ordinary criminal world."

"Are you saying I'm a classy criminal?" Draco asked with a smirk as Harry knocked on a door with the label '101a' hanging off of it.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Harry said with a chuckle as a voice called, "That you, Harry?"

"Yeah it's me Nev, can I come in?"

"What's the password?" Neville's voice called from inside the flat.

Draco rolled his eyes, "You Auror bunch are pretty paranoid, aren't you?"

"We catch bad guys for a living, of course we are," Harry said under his breath, "Unless you've changed it since yesterday, it's Godric."

"Predictable," Draco muttered.

The door snapped open and Harry walked into the small flat with Draco at his heels, "You're getting as paranoid as Moody in your exile," he said to Neville who was sitting on the sofa in jeans and a baggy t-shirt with a glass of firewhiskey in his hand.

"I can't imagine why," Neville said bitterly, "It's not like there are angry ex-Death Eaters who want revenge. Don't suppose that's why you've brought him here, to off me?"

"Nah," Harry said, shutting the door and walking further into the flat, "We've got a job offer for you."

Neville narrowed his eyes at them, and Draco felt uncomfortable, this definitely wasn't the Neville Longbottom he'd gone to school with, he almost missed the bumbling fool.

"You and Malfoy?"

"Malfoy is now technically a member of the justice department," Harry said with a slight smirk.

"What was his other option, Azkaban?" Neville asked, his face lighting up slightly at Draco's downfall.

Harry grinned, "You guessed it. We're setting up an unofficial team, to do the jobs you've been doing for us. It's damn good pay, you get to be in a team again, and you'll officially be employed by the ministry so you can stop living like a bloody tramp."

Neville seemed brighter just at the mention of it, "A team, you say? To do the illegal jobs?"

"Not exactly," Harry said, "A team to catch the bad guys, by any means."

Neville nodded thoughtfully, "Alright…I'm intrigued, why's Malfoy in charge of it?"

"He's a criminal genius, we can't deny that," Harry said with a sideways glance at Malfoy, "He knows the criminal world like the back of his hand, he's a more corrupt version of an Auror."

"I'm a pretty corrupt version of an Auror," Neville retorted as he got to his feet.

"Well you'll make a fantastic team then," Harry joked.

"Who else?" Neville asked.

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but Neville smirked, "No Harry, let Malfoy speak. I want to see if he can get any more uncomfortable than he is right now."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Have it your way Longbottom. The team will have 3 other members, Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott and Eddie Carmichael."

Neville scoffed, "Greengrass, the boyfriend killer?"

"Trust me, there's far more to her than her reputation," Draco said smoothly, "And Theodore Nott-"

"No, I'll give you that, he's a bloody genius. Harry can't stand the fact he's never been able to catch him," Neville said in amusement.

Harry shook his head in amusement, "I have to admit it, he's too good for me to catch."

"What about Carmichael?" Draco asked, "What's your take on him?"

Neville shrugged, "He's alright, he's basically Nott's lackey, but he's a half-blood. You'll need someone with knowledge of the muggle world on your team."

Draco gave a slight nod, "Good, I'm glad you agree," he said awkwardly.

Neville grinned, "So what's my role in this? If I know Harry he'll have let you pick your own team, but why on earth would you pick me, Malfoy?"

"Potter gave me a convincing argument," Draco said simply.

"Let me guess, he said you need someone with a moral compass?" Neville asked with a smirk.

Harry smirked slightly, "Well, I had to convince him somehow, you need a job."

"What?" Draco asked with a frown.

"You believed Harry when he told you I had a moral compass?" Neville asked in amusement, "I got fired for killing someone, yeah that's some moral compass I've got there."

Draco rolled his eyes, "And this is why I never trust Gryffindors."

"You're the slimy snake," Harry remarked, "But that's beside the point, Neville your part in this is to provide the official side of the team, as the former Auror."

Neville raised an eyebrow, "Alright, I'll do it."

"So how's the drinking going?" Harry asked as he sat down on an armchair, leaving Draco standing awkwardly by the door.

"Not bad, down to two glasses a day," Neville said simply.

"It's better than two bottles," Harry remarked.

"Don't even start, Harry," Neville said darkly.

"I was just going to say, the offer of getting you help still stands," Harry said simply.

"I don't need your help," Neville said bitterly, "I got myself into this mess, and I'll get myself out of it. Stop trying to save me with your bloody hero complex."

Draco raised an eyebrow at the two men, "How do you two know each other so well? You never talked at school, you were too busy hanging around Weasel."

"Big misjudgement on your behalf, Harry," Neville said sarcastically, "We could have been killing snakes and dark lords together for years if you'd just paid attention to me."

Harry smirked, "Shut up, you git," he said almost affectionately.

"This is charming," Draco said dryly.

"We were Auror partners, Malfoy," Harry said as he got to his feet, "Until this idiot decided to go and kill someone."

"Thanks for that, mate."

"You probably would have got away with it if the guy you killed hadn't been the guy who helped Bellatrix Lestrange torture your parents to insanity," Harry remarked, "That kind of takes away the argument of saying it was an accident."

Neville rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I probably should have thought that one through."

"You should have bloody told me, I'd have done it for you and we'd both have gotten away with it," Harry said, "You got me doing paperwork for a month after that, and I had to get partnered up with bloody Ron."

"You and Ron are fine," Neville said with another eye roll.

"He's not as good as you though, he knows it too. He only got promoted cause you got fired," Harry said.

"What the hell happened to the whole golden trio thing?" Draco asked in amusement.

"Ron's fine, but he likes to cut corners," Harry said with an eye roll.

"What Harry is really saying is, Ron's a lazy git who only got the job because of what he did in the war," Neville translated.

"What about Granger?" Draco asked, leaning against the door.

"Let's just say her and Ron's first shot at a relationship was short, and ended with a bang," Harry said with a slight frown, "Ever since then it's been an on-off thing, and I can't be bothered being in the middle of it."

Draco smirked.

Harry and Neville narrowed their eyes at each other, "What?" they asked in unison.

"I may have helped with that," Draco said in amusement, "As you both probably know Weasel slept with some intern or whatever. Granger wanted to piss him off, and she decided the best way to do that was through me…"

Neville grinned, "Wow, I have so much more respect for Hermione now."

"I know," Harry said in amusement, "She went to _such lengths_ to piss off Ron, how noble of her."

"Lengths?" Draco objected, "I am a valuable asset."

Harry snorted, "Right, keep telling yourself that Malfoy."

"I suppose some girls are into the whole bad boy thing," Neville reasoned.

"There's the bad boy thing, and the convicted criminal thing, slight difference," Harry grinned as he made towards the door, "Glad to have you back, Nev."

Neville smiled slightly, "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow morning, 9am," Draco responded, "You better not be drunk because I'll be testing you."

"Don't worry, he doesn't get drunk anymore," Harry said as he opened the door, "He's immune after the amount he's drunk in the last few months."

"And I'd pass your tests even if I was," Neville retorted in amusement, "See you around Harry."

"See you Nev," Harry said shutting the door and smirking at Draco, "One down, three to go."

* * *

By the time Harry and Draco walked into 'The Warty Hag', the worst (and only) pub in Knockturn Alley, Draco had undergone a wardrobe change. Harry was in what he termed his 'undercover wear', slightly shabby, but simple black robes. Draco on the other hand was mixing with the criminal underworld now, not just running classy illegal operations. He was wearing black leather robes, his hair was no longer slicked back, and he fitted in perfectly.

They wandered up to the bar and sat down next to two people who were sitting on barstools, then they made their move.

"Theo."

"Draco."

"Carmichael."

"Malfoy."

"And who is your mysterious friend?" Theodore Nott asked, glancing sideways at Harry who with his stubble, and glasses removed, he didn't recognise.

"Oh, just someone I'm using for the moment," Draco said offhandedly.

Theo accepted this with a nod, "What brings you here? You got a job for me?"

"I've got a job offer for you," Draco remarked.

Theodore narrowed his eyes, "You fucking coward, you've turned haven't you? That an Auror you got there with you? You bloody git, what did he offer you, money? Fame?" he scoffed, "Hear this Eddie? Draco's got a fucking Auror with him."

"An Auror?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow.

Draco glared sidelong at them, "He's an Auror who has a bloody good job offer for you both."

Theo scoffed, "I'm not working for any Auror, mate. Just because you've turned doesn't mean I'm going to."

"Or me," Eddie added.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Well you would agree with everything Theo says."

Eddie glared at Draco, "He happens to be right, unlike you, joining up with the bloody Aurors."

"He has a point," Theo said darkly.

Harry opened his mouth to argue their case, but he didn't get a chance to say anything. A rather large man covered in tattoos had appeared behind them, he nudged Theo hard on the back, "Oi."

Theo turned around, "Want something?" he asked casually.

"You spineless bastard," The man said, "You fucking slept with my wife."

"I think you must be getting me confused with someone else mate," Theo said.

"Nah, I saw you two together in here last night, and I followed you," The man said gruffly, "And now I'm gonna kill ya."

Draco and Harry stayed put as Theo and the jilted husband got into a fist fight which escalated into a duel. Eddie jumped in to duel the man's henchman, and after 5 minutes or so Harry got to his feet.

"Alright, break it up!" He ordered, "I'm an Auror, and if you don't stop right now all four of you will be getting arrested for assault!"

The fight instantly broke up, Harry smiled slightly as he looked at Theo and Eddie with their bloody noses, "Want to reconsider that offer? Because otherwise I'll bring you both in for assault, and then it's likely we'll be able to book you for all your other crimes, including fraud, theft, attempted murder-"

Eddie and Theo shared a glance, then Eddie said, "Yeah mate, I'll reconsider your offer."

"You fucking traitor," Theo muttered under his breath.

"I'm not going to Azkaban for you like the idiots you employ," Eddie said, glaring at Theo.

"Good choice Eddie," Draco said with a slight smirk, "You've just saved yourself time in Azkaban. I do hope you enjoy prison Theo, but I don't suspect that you will. There are far more men than women and with how lonely it can get on that little island and how feminine you look, I'm sure they would have a whole lot of fun."

"Oh alright then, I'll hear your bloody job offer," Theo caved, "Fucking traitorous bastards, the lot of us."

Harry and Draco shared a glance and Harry smirked, finding himself actually enjoying working with Draco Malfoy.

"Come on," Harry said, binding both of their hands, "I won't blow your cover, we'll discuss this somewhere more private."

"So much bloody courtesy for an Auror," Eddie said sarcastically as they were transported upstairs to an empty room. It was only as Harry sat down in an old dusty armchair and put his glasses on that Eddie and Theo recognised him.

"You're working with Harry bloody Potter? Have you lost your mind Draco?" Theo asked in disbelief.

"It was this or 10 years in Azkaban," Draco said dryly.

"I would have taken Azkaban," Theo remarked.

"You're free to it," Harry said smoothly, "But before you decide, you should hear our offer. The ministry have decided to set up a team of criminal geniuses, there are some criminals who keep slipping through the system. This team, which will be led by Malfoy, has the job of catching these guys by any means necessary."

Eddie smirked, "You think we're criminal geniuses?"

"Of course we are, you imbecile," Theo said with a roll of his eyes.

"I handpicked the team, Theo," Draco said as he leant against the wall, "And I lead it, Potters just here to help with the set-up, and pay us."

"Yeah alright, I'm intrigued," Theo said, pushing his shoulder length black hair behind his ear, "What about you, Eddie?"

Eddie shrugged, "Sounds okay so far," he admitted.

Theo was the womaniser, but Eddie was good looking too, with blonde hair and blue eyes he looked a lot like Draco, only musclier. Despite being Theo's sidekick he was pretty good in his own right, and intelligent, unlike Crabbe and Goyle.

"Who else is gonna be on this team then?" Theo asked Draco.

"Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but Longbottom," Draco admitted.

Theo snorted, "Fatbottom?"

"Yeah…I wouldn't call him that to his face, he's gone pretty badass these days," Draco said.

"He did kill a giant snake with a sword," Eddie said. "And he murdered a guy on the job and got the sack for it. I heard he hit him in the face with the killing curse."

"He castrated him first, but yeah," Harry said, watching Theo and Eddie for a reaction.

"Merlin, that's a whole other level of evil," Eddie said with a wince.

"I like the sound of him," Theo grinned, "When do I meet him?"

"So you're up for this then?" Draco asked hopefully.

"Let's put it this way, I'm not doing time in Azkaban," Theo remarked.

Eddie nodded, "I'll do it too, I always thought it would be cool to be an Auror."

"From what I saw down there, you're both pretty good," Harry admitted, "And trust me, it will be worth it for the pay. That's the best thing about the justice department."

"Please stop calling it that," Draco said dryly, "And stop calling this team the justice team."

"Salazar, that's a shit name," Theo said, "From now on you're not allowed to name anything Potter."

"How about the kick ass team?" Eddie suggested.

"Bloody hell Eddie, that's about as bad as the justice team," Theo remarked.

Draco smirked, "We'll name it properly later. For now let's talk business, you both start at 9am tomorrow."

"Alright, we'll be there," Theo said for himself and Eddie as Harry and Draco walked towards the door.

"Hang on, is that it? The three of us and Longbottom?" Theo asked.

Draco turned around in the doorway with a slight smile on his face, "No, don't suppose you know where we could find Greengrass?"

Eddie laughed loudly, and Theo's eyes widened, "No way! I can't work with her!"

"Why not?" Harry asked in confusion.

"She's tried to kill me three bloody times!" Theo remarked.

"Well you shouldn't have screwed her over three times then, you know her reputation," Draco said matter of factly.

"You fucking arsehole! She will kill me if we have to work together," Theo said, actually looking scared.

"No she won't, just don't sleep with her," Draco said simply, "Do you know where she is?"

"Probably shagging and stabbing some poor guy as we speak," Theo said darkly.

Draco rolled his eyes, "She's not actually that bad, and I know that at least one of you two knows where she is."

"She's staying at the Leaky," Eddie informed them, "She just got disowned, pretty badly too, all the inheritance goes to her bitch of a sister."

"You bloody traitor," Theo mumbled.

"Oh shut up you git," Eddie said, "We just agreed to work for the fucking ministry."

Harry hid a smile as they left, leaving Theo and Eddie to bicker amongst themselves, "Good luck with that," he muttered to Draco.

 **TBC :)  
**


	3. Tests

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 3 - Tests  
**

Harry and Draco got some odd looks as they walked into the Leaky Cauldron together, but they ignored them as they took a seat at the bar.

"Hey Tom," Harry said brightly, leaning forward ever so slightly, "I'm here on Auror business, slip me a copy of your guest list?"

Tom gave him a slight nod, "Alright Mr. Potter, good to see you."

"You too," Harry said with a smile, "Do you want a drink, Malfoy?"

"I'll have a firewhiskey," Draco said, and Harry smiled, "Just water for me."

"You don't drink?" Draco asked.

"I'm on the job," Harry reminded him, "Technically so are you."

"But since I'm unofficially employed by the justice department I can drink," Draco said with a smirk as he sipped his firewhiskey. Tom slid the guest list onto the bar and they both looked down at it, talking under their breath to each other.

"She'll be going under a fake name."

"Of course she will," Draco whispered, his eyes scanning the list.

"Natasha Romanoff," Harry said in amusement, "That's her."

"How do you know?" Draco asked with a frown.

"This is why you need someone with Muggle knowledge on your team," Harry smirked, "It's the real name of the 'Black Widow', a Muggle fictional character who is a female assassin."

"Ah," Draco said in amusement, "Sounds about right to me."

Harry nodded, and Draco finished his drink. They made their way up the stairs and knocked on the door to her room, there was silence and then the click of high heels walking across the floor. The key went in and the door unlocked, then it swung open and Daphne Greengrass stood in front of them wearing only skimpy underwear and a pissed off look.

"Draco, your timing sucks," Daphne drawled, glancing at Harry, "And you've brought a pet Gryffindor, how cute."

"Yes, I can see we've interrupted something terribly important," Draco remarked, glancing further into the room to see a man handcuffed to the bed inside, "Your next victim?"

"He's got loads of money," Daphne said with a smirk, "And I just got disowned, my bitch of a sister gets the lot."

"Eddie said," Draco said dryly.

"You've been talking to Eddie?" Daphne asked, leaning against the doorway, not at all phased by the fact she was standing there in dark green lacy underwear, high heels and nothing else.

"We've recruited him, actually," Harry said, "For a new team that Malfoy's leading."

"Aw, how sweet, Potter and Malfoy working together through all the sexual tension," Daphne said sarcastically.

"Sexual tension?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, "I don't know what you were seeing at Hogwarts, but it clearly wasn't the same thing we saw."

"Of course not," Daphne said smoothly, "Well thanks for the offer, I'm honoured, I really am. Unfortunately, I don't play well with others."

She made to shut the door in their faces, but Harry stopped it with a charm. She glared at him, "I'm busy Potter, and I can't be bothered with your moral compass shit right now."

"Look Greengrass," Harry said, "This isn't an offer, you're joining the team."

"Or what?" She challenged him.

"Or you go to jail," Draco said quietly, "Because I have evidence on Blaise's death, you know I do, and you know I can use it against you at any point."

"You fucking bastard," Daphne hissed, dragging him into the room and attempting to punch him. As soon as her hand got close to touching his skin it hit an invisible wall however and she swore loudly. Harry slipped into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Life debts sweetheart," Draco said with a smirk, "They are a wonderful thing."

"I hate you," Daphne said venomously.

"Listen Daphne," Draco said, grabbing her wrists as she went for her wand which was tucked into her bra, "This is a good offer, you're getting paid to go undercover, sleep with guys and arrest them. It's right up your street."

Daphne shot him a glare, "I'm not a prostitute."

"No, you're far too classy for that," Harry agreed, "You are cunning, and intelligent, and incredibly attractive. Three traits that are very important when it comes to doing undercover work."

"You sound like you know from experience Potter," Daphne said, eyeing him with a grin.

"You know I do," Harry said, smirking at her, "You're good enough with me, you'll be even better on your own. Nobody else on that team is subtle enough, they need you."

"How much more than you pay me for my undercover stints?" Daphne asked with narrowed eyes.

"Double that for a month's work," Harry said, "And you get immunity, you won't get any time in Azkaban."

"Who picked this team, you or Draco?"

"I did," Draco said simply.

"And you've recruited Eddie? Who else?"

"Theo," Draco said honestly.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "That dog, really? Does he know about me?" She was smirking now.

"Yes," Draco said, also smirking.

"He freaked out," Harry grinned, "Thought you'd try and kill him."

Daphne laughed, "I might consider joining this team just to mess with him. Anyone else?"

"Uh, yeah…Neville Longbottom," Draco admitted.

"Okay," Daphne said, "Sounds good."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, "Really?"

"Hey don't knock Gryffindors till you've tried them," Daphne smirked, "He beheaded a snake, that's pretty hot already. Then he went and got sacked for murdering a guy on the job, he cut the guys balls off first, that's my kind of man."

"What, you slept with him, and he's alive?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," Daphne said matter of factly, ignoring the yelps from the guy on the bed behind her as the topic of conversation freaked him out, "I thought about it, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. He was too pathetic, he looked like he was gonna cry. He was damn good in bed though."

Harry smirked slightly at the look on Draco's face, "Neville good enough for you yet? I told you he'd become part of the criminal underworld since getting sacked."

"Bloody hell, yeah," Daphne said, "The other day he sold me a whole stash of illegal potions, he's got connections."

"As good a criminal as he was an Auror," Harry said in amusement.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure he'll prove himself tomorrow," Draco said simply, turning to Daphne, "So, are you in?"

"Why not?" Daphne said with a shrug, "I'll try anything once. When do I start?"

"9am tomorrow," Draco said as he opened the door, "And try wearing some clothes."

"What's the point?" Daphne asked with a grin, "Everyone on that team has seen me naked."

"But Potters poor innocent eyes wouldn't be able to handle it," Draco teased.

Daphne's grin widened, "What did I tell you about underestimating Gryffindors Draco?" She asked as she shut the door in his face, and the man on the bed screamed.

Harry rolled his eyes and flung a charm through the wall, vanishing the guy to St. Mungo's. From inside the room Daphne called, "Merlin Potter, would you quit ruining my fun?"

Draco laughed as they walked back down the stairs into the main pub, "So you _have_ slept with Daphne?"

"Nah," Harry answered honestly, "She's just messing with you, I've seen her naked, we had to do undercover work together remember?"

"Ah, of course," Draco said as they left the pub and paused on the street, "Are we done?"

"Yeah and I think that was a good days work," Harry said with a smile, "Good luck with your team, I'll pop in periodically to give you jobs, but it's all down to you now."

Draco actually smiled a little, "Thanks for the opportunity Potter."

Harry gave him a nod as they went their separate ways, "See you around Malfoy."

* * *

 _ **8.45am…**_

"Harry, where are you going?" Ron asked as Harry walked towards the door of the office their team shared.

"Malfoy's team are meeting downstairs in 15 minutes," Harry said with a grin, "I've got to make sure they don't kill each other."

Ron shook his head in amusement, "So they all agreed, even Nev?"

"Nev is desperate for a job," Harry said honestly, "He'd agree to any paid work, even if it is under Malfoy."

"Now there's an image," Burton said with a smirk.

Ron grimaced, and Harry snorted, "Thanks for that Burton," he said from the doorway.

"Sir, can I come down with you?" Burton asked, "Eddie Carmichael is-"

"He's a criminal Dana, I don't care how hot you think he is," Harry teased, "You can't come down, sorry. I'm the one assigned to this team, you guys aren't even supposed to know it exists."

He left the doorway and Ron followed him, "But I don't count in that, right?"

"No, Ron," Harry said seriously, "I mean it, just me. Nobody else has a part in this, if things go bad I take the fall. I don't want it to affect your career, or Burton and Baileys."

Ron frowned slightly but said, "Alright."

Harry nodded and walked swiftly down the corridor, then down the concrete stairwell to where the metal door to the bunker was slightly ajar. He walked in, smiling when he saw Malfoy sprucing the place up, "Got an eye for interior design?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "Interior design? All I did was replace the furniture, I sat on that sofa and a spider came out at me. You Aurors are filthy."

"Well up until yesterday this was a morgue," Harry said casually.

Draco's eyes widened, "You have got to be kidding me."

Harry grinned, "Yeah, I am. It was used for storage, I'm just messing with you."

Draco breathed a sigh of relief and Harry looked around the bunker. It now had a couple of new sofas, 5 desks complete with comfortable looking chairs and a small kitchen space at the back. It was amazing what a few spells could do, the lake at the back was gone too and the place seemed water-proofed.

"It looks good," Harry said, looking around, "It could just do with a bit of natural light though," he flicked his wand and 3 windows appeared on either side of the room, showing a fake view of grassy hills, and a sunny landscape.

Draco scoffed, "At least make it accurate to the weather outside," he said, waving his wand and causing rain to lash against the windows, "Much better."

"You Slytherins do seem to like the wet, and the damp," Harry retorted in amusement.

"Sounds like our last undercover job, Potter," A smooth voice said from the doorway.

Harry chuckled as Daphne walked into the room, far more covered up in jeans and a t-shirt, although she hadn't scrapped the high heels.

"What the hell was your last undercover job?" Draco asked in amusement as he leant against one of the desks.

"It was a smuggling ring, they had a lair underneath a lake," Harry said, "And we had to infiltrate it."

"Reminded me of the Slytherin common room actually," Daphne said, sitting down on the sofa, "So I'm the only one on time then?"

"I'm on time," Another voice said from the doorway, and Harry smiled slightly as Neville walked in, looking far less homeless and desperate.

"Wow, you've shaved."

Neville rolled his eyes and sat down next to Daphne on the sofa, "Looking forward to working with you."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "You do know my reputation, right? I only let you off the last time because I felt sorry for you."

"Of course you did," Neville said as he glanced up at Draco, "Why am I not surprised Nott and Carmichael are the last to arrive?"

Harry chuckled, "They'll be here, they know their only other option is Azkaban."

Draco nodded and glanced at the clock, "I told them 9am, so I expect them to be here at quarter past," he said, vaguely amused.

"What are you doing hanging around here anyway, Potter?" Daphne asked, eyeing him curiously.

"I'm assigned to you lot, I need to make sure you don't kill each other when you're all in a room together," Harry joked.

"Basically he's here to tell us the rules while we're all together," Draco remarked.

"Pretty much," Harry admitted as the door pushed open and Theo and Eddie walked in.

"Do you two do everything together?" Neville asked in amusement.

"We live together," Theo said, sitting down heavily on the other sofa, "So obviously we're going to arrive at the same time."

Daphne sniggered as Eddie sat down next to Theo, glancing around the room curiously.

Harry smiled, "Well, my role here at the moment is to get you all settled in. So let's do some short introductions."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "Really, Potter? We all went to school together."

"Which was years ago," Harry said pointedly, "Did you ever talk to each other? No. So we're doing this my way. Let's get the introductions over, then we'll do Malfoy's tests and you can be on your first case."

"Sounds fair," Neville said.

"Well you start then Fatbottom," Theo retorted.

"Does he look fat to you?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.

Neville leant back and smiled as Theo glowered at them.

"Yeah but looks can be deceiving," Theo said with narrowed eyes, "I bet he's still the bumbling idiot from school."

Neville raised his eyebrow at Theo and with a flick of his finger Theo was thrown backwards off of the sofa. Daphne smirked and Eddie roared with laughter.

"Nice choice, Potter," Draco muttered to Harry.

"Told you he was good," Harry whispered as Theo picked himself up from the ground, glaring at Neville and blushing.

"So, that's Neville Longbottom," Harry said in amusement, "Fancy telling the team your expertise, Nev?"

"Apart from Death Eater killing," Eddie said with a grin, "Theo was shitting himself last night thinking you had it out for him and Draco."

"Shut up Eddie," Theo hissed.

"Well it could be arranged if you piss me off," Neville said with a glance towards Theo who paled significantly.

Harry rolled his eyes, "He's not going to kill any of you, it would be a breach of contract."

"That didn't stop him before," Theo said, looking suspiciously at Neville.

"Well he's not stupid enough to make the same mistake twice," Harry said in amusement, "So Nev, expertise."

Neville was still smiling slightly, "Duelling, field healing and I can do wandless magic."

Draco nodded thoughtfully, "Pretty well rounded."

"Daphne, expertise?"

"Apart from being a slut?" Theo asked snarkily.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "If you're scared of me Theo, insulting me isn't a great idea."

"And her allure _is_ a skill," Harry added.

Daphne grinned, "Even if you are the only man who has turned me down Potter," she teased, "But yes, I can seduce most men, it comes in pretty handy for undercover jobs and acquiring information."

"She's also incredibly clever," Draco cut in, "With a mind for strategy. Don't judge a book by its cover."

Daphne smiled slightly and Harry nodded, "Theo?"

Theo didn't look quite as smug as he had when he first entered the room, "Well Legilimency for one, I can read people like a book."

"That's how you always know how to get in and out of a place before the Aurors show up," Harry realised.

Theo smiled a little smugly, "Yep, it has all kinds of uses."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Apart from figuring out how to get a woman in bed, and robbing banks, you don't use it for much."

Theo smirked, "Getting women into bed is a great use for it."

'"Anything else?" Harry asked.

"Map making," Theo said, "With a few spells, some ink and some parchment I can sit on the roof of a building and make a fairly accurate map of its layout. With some tracking charms I can even track people inside of it."

He seemed so smug, like this was ground-breaking magic, but Harry knew it wasn't, it was very similar to the Marauders map. He hid his smirk and said, "Alright then Eddie, what about you?"

"Apart from being Theo's lackey," Neville said in amusement.

Eddie glared at him, "I'm not Theo's lackey. He might be the one who uses his skill to get in and out of the place, but I'm the one who does the defence charms and all the wards, and I'm the one who breaks the codes on the safes."

Theo nodded, "That's actually true, we're a team. Eddie isn't like Crabbe or Goyle were to you Draco."

Harry frowned slightly, "Right, Malfoy is leading this team. I assume you all know why, he's got a good head for strategy, he's a natural leader and he's respected in the criminal world."

"It's about the only world you're respected in," Theo joked.

Draco laughed, "Very true," he said, leaning against his desk, "Now, if you're done Potter I would like to conduct my tests."

"There are actually tests? I thought you were taking the piss," Eddie said in disbelief.

"There are tests," Draco said in amusement, "And Eddie, you're up first. Duel Potter."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "Really? Why the hell are you using me?"

"Since we're unofficial if anything goes wrong its Aurors we're going to have to face, and Aurors are better than any criminal," Draco said simply, "Besides you're an adrenaline junky, you'll enjoy this."

"You don't actually know me, Malfoy," Harry pointed out as he walked to the centre of the room.

"I went to school with you for 7 years, Potter. That was long enough to let me know you were an adrenaline junky," Draco remarked with a smirk, "It might have had something to do with fighting a three-headed dog, then a giant snake, and then entering yourself into the Triwizard Tournament."

"I didn't enter myself into the Triwizard Tournament!" Harry said testily.

"That's a touchy subject, don't bring it up," Neville said in amusement, "That was the only time Harry's ever spent the best part of a year hanging out with me because Ron was being a dick."

"Yeah well I've realised the error of my ways now," Harry said vaguely amused, "Although I didn't care that the rest of the school thought I'd entered myself, but you'd have thought my best mate would have believed me."

"But your best mate was a dick, no offence," Eddie said with a slight smirk as he got to his feet.

"None taken," Harry said, gearing up for the duel, "And you won't be smirking when I'm done with you Carmichael."

Eddie chuckled slightly, "Bloody hell, you really are an adrenaline junky."

"Look at the blood pumping in your veins," Daphne teased, "You can't wait to duel him."

Harry grinned, and admitted, "Alright, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junky. I had a troubled upbringing, what can I say? My career options were this or a murderer, and this pays better."

Eddie chuckled and the duel began, he was pretty good actually, but no match for Harry.

Harry started off by going easy on Eddie so that Draco could assess Eddie's skill. It was clear he was the fighter of the duo and Theo was the thinker. Eddie was fast, his knowledge of spells was great, and he could do quick defence charms. Harry got bored after about 5 minutes and upped his game to its normal level, Eddie didn't last a minute after that.

"Bloody hell you're good," Eddie said as he picked himself up from the floor and dusted himself down.

"Well he is Harry Potter," Draco said, not actually sounding that sarcastic.

Harry smirked at the former Slytherin, "I'll take that as a compliment, Draco," he said offhandedly, causing Draco to raise an eyebrow at the use of his first name.

"Aw, you're on a first name basis now," Daphne said as she got to her feet, "That's cute."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Less talk, more action Greengrass. Let's see what you can do."

"You _know_ what I can do," Daphne said a little darkly, "You saw what happened to Blaise."

"I saw what happened to Zabini," Harry said with a slight frown, "And it really wasn't pleasant."

Daphne wasn't smiling or joking around anymore as she took her stance, "Don't worry Potter, I'm not stupid enough to murder an Auror. Especially not one as pretty as you."

"Try duelling him instead of chatting him up," Draco said from the side-lines.

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you were jealous, Draco," Daphne joked with a grin as the duel began.

Daphne was good too, she was fast. She didn't need to use defence or shield charms a lot of the time because she weaved and dodged spells instead. It meant she could keep throwing offensive spells instead of slowing herself down with defensive ones. Harry could see her pattern and break it whenever he felt like, but he kept going for the best part of 10 minutes because he was intrigued at some of the hand-made spells she was throwing at him, and glad he was dodging them. He took her down with a simple jinx eventually then helped her to her feet.

"You are good," Harry said sounding genuinely impressed, "And fast."

Daphne smirked as she sat back down on the sofa next to Neville, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

Draco smiled slightly, "I knew you were good Daphne, that's why I picked you. Now Theo on the other hand…I could rip you apart in a duel while we were at school. Let's see if you've gotten any better."

"Look, I'm not the fighter, that's Eddie. I'm the one who plans it all out," Theo said as he got in position, he looked uncomfortable.

"I'll give him 2 minutes, even with you going easy on him," Eddie said in amusement as the duel began.

Theo did last longer than 2 minutes, he lasted 3 minutes. He wasn't great, he knew enough to keep himself going, but his reactions weren't very fast.

"Right," Draco said, "Well that confirms my hunch. Theo, you're the thinker, you're the one who I'll send on recon and leave here to go through files."

Theo actually smiled, "I'd rather that than be out risking my life with you adrenaline junkies," he said.

"Theo is a typical Slytherin," Daphne said in amusement, "A coward who's willing to sit on the side-lines, unlike me."

"And Malfoy," Harry added.

Draco frowned slightly, "Well that's nice of you Potter, but I think it's safe to say I'm a coward. I ran away in the final battle, I didn't even switch sides at the end."

"You saved my life back at Malfoy Manor in the war," Harry said, catching Draco's eye, "Going against your parents and risking your life to do that. That's not the kind of thing a coward would do."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at Draco, "This is news to me."

"It was nothing," Draco muttered awkwardly.

"Saving the life of the guy who went on to defeat the darkest wizard of all time?" Neville asked as he got to his feet, "That's pretty awesome, I wouldn't say it's nothing," he enjoyed making Draco awkward.

"Especially since you hate me," Harry added.

Theo snorted, "He doesn't hate you. He talked about you way too much for that."

"Yeah, our Drakey here admired you Potter," Daphne teased, "He wanted to be the great Harry Potter."

Draco scoffed, "No, I didn't."

Harry smiled slightly, saving Draco from anymore awkward questions, "Come on then Nev, give me a real challenge."

Neville grinned broadly and they dove into a real duel, one that was both amazing and scary to watch.

"Oh, I've missed this," Neville said brightly as he casually attempted to behead Harry.

Harry grinned, "I've not had this much of a challenge in ages!" he said happily, dodging Neville's curse and throwing a blasting charm at his friend.

The others were looking on in disbelief at the exchange between the friends. Draco asked, "Do you two do this for fun?"

"Yep," Neville answered over the roar of the fire they were sending towards each other which was turning into a fireball in the centre of the room, "Used to do it every Friday night."

"Most normal people just go out for drinks or hook up or play poker…" Theo said with a chuckle.

"Most people didn't fight a war and don't need an adrenaline buzz every so often to keep them from going crazy," Harry said in amusement, "Some people drink or do drugs, some people have a lot of sex, and some people try to kill each other once a week."

Daphne shook her head in amusement, "This is the kind of relationship I want…" she said longingly.

Draco laughed, "You're almost as crazy as Potter and Longbottom."

"I'll take that as a compliment in this case," Daphne said in amusement, as she turned back to the duel. It lasted for nearly 20 minutes before Harry finally beat Neville, they were both sweating and still high on adrenaline as they shook hands.

"Oh I do miss having you as my partner, Nev," Harry said, patting his friend on the back, "But at least you're in good hands here."

"And from that show, you've just been promoted," Draco said in amusement, "You're my second in command."

Neville chuckled, "Well I _am_ the most qualified," he said.

Harry laughed and then Daphne said with a smirk, "Go on Draco, if we all have to do the test you should too. Duel Potter."

Draco looked slightly uncomfortable with the idea, but Harry grinned, "Good idea, it will be just like old times."

A look flashed across Draco's face, and Harry knew instantly what he was thinking of, "Sorry, Draco, that was a stupid thing to say. I meant in 2nd year not…"

The others were looking on with frowns, only Neville knew what had happened between Draco and Harry in that bathroom during their 6th year.

"No, it's fine," Draco said with a wave of his hand, "I'll duel you Potter, I'm probably better than you think."

They both drew their wands, glaring at each other in good nature.

"Scared, Malfoy?" Harry asked, his lips quirking into a smirk.

Malfoy returned the smirk easily, "You wish."

Daphne and Neville looked at each other in amusement, Neville rolled his eyes and Daphne mouthed, "Sexual tension?"

The duel then commenced, and although none of them would have admitted it, Neville, Daphne, Theo and Eddie found it both mesmerizing and terrifying to watch. Harry Potter was number 1 dueller in the world, _everyone_ knew that, well everyone who read Witch Weekly or the Prophet anyway. However, Draco Malfoy could easily have been number 2.

"My bets are on Draco," Theo muttered, holding out a handful of galleons to Eddie.

Eddie scoffed, "No way, Potter's got this."

They shook hands, and returned their attention to the fast and furious duel. They weren't quite using murderous spells, but they could easily maim each other pretty badly if anything went wrong. The spells were powerful, the casting spot on and the speed of the whole thing was so fast that sometimes the onlookers just saw various beams of lights shooting through the air and bouncing off shield charms which never seemed to drop.

"Not bad Malfoy," Harry said smoothly.

"Not bad?" Malfoy scoffed, grinning smugly, "You know I'm good Potter."

"He is good," Neville murmured to Daphne, "Harry's stretching himself here, he's going full out and he's struggling."

"How do you know?" Daphne asked in a curious whisper.

Neville chuckled, "He's sweating, he doesn't do that unless he's in a really tense, difficult duel."

"I knew Draco was good, but I didn't think he was _this_ good," Daphne admitted.

"He's better than me, I can see why Harry let him lead the team," Neville said as Harry narrowly avoided an entrail expelling curse.

"If I didn't know better Potter I'd say you were getting tired," Draco said with a smirk, "Ducking like that instead of strengthening your shield charm. Aren't Aurors supposed to have _good_ stamina?"

Harry shot the blonde-haired man a glare, "I don't think there's anything wrong with my stamina. You're the one who looks like you're about to faint, but then it's hard to tell since you're always that pale."

As Draco rolled his eyes, Harry did a spell Draco couldn't compete with. He'd never seen it used, and he knew the level of skill and power it required was huge. It was a flame whip, and as he slashed it across the room Draco dropped to the ground, "Alright, you win! Bloody hell!"

Harry grinned, and ended the spell, restoring normalcy to the room. The others clapped, and Harry chuckled as he leant against Draco's desk, "Did we give you a good show then?"

"Put it this way, I can see why you put him in charge," Neville said as Harry wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Yeah, I told you he was good," Harry said in amusement, "But now that your tests, and entertainment, is over, I ought to get back to work."

"Boring, plain old Auror work. I don't envy you," Eddie said with a grin as Harry walked towards the door.

He chuckled then paused, he turned back around to face them, "Oh, I almost forgot," he said as he pulled a file from his robes, "I've got your first case."

Draco's eyes lit up, and Harry dropped it on his desk, "His name is Henry Callaghan, he's illegally buying magical creatures and shipping them out to Europe. We haven't been able to close in on his location, but we suspect its somewhere like Romania or Bulgaria."

"Romania or Bulgaria?" Daphne asked with a frown, "Is he buying dragons?"

"Surprisingly not," Harry answered, "The cargo is too small, from the size and weight it's more likely they are Erumpent young."

"So he's illegally exporting them from Africa to Europe?" Eddie said, "It's obvious what they're doing then, isn't it?"

"Sadly," Harry said with a sigh, "We think they are using them to fight with, it's a wicked and highly illegal sport. The Erumpent aren't allowed to grow to adulthood, and hundreds of them die. The species is nearly extinct."

"Surely this is a job for somebody in the DRCMC?" Theo asked.

Harry shook his head, "It's too dangerous, it's a job for people trained to fight. The people in DRCMC would get killed trying. Callaghan is dangerous, there are other charges against his name. We can't bring him in for this, but if you can find a way, he'll go down for a long time."

Draco nodded and glanced around the others, "Well looks like we're going on a trip to Europe."

Daphne smirked, "I can't wait."

 **TBC :)  
**


	4. Erumpent Fighting

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 4 - Erumpent Fighting  
**

It turned out that before the team could go anywhere they had to do paperwork which to say the least, hadn't left anyone happy.

"We can't just rush off to Europe. We've got to do some background work first, find out what we're getting ourselves into," Draco had said, ignoring the others groans.

So that was how they ended up as they were, scattered around the basement at their desks. Daphne and Neville were doing background checks on Callaghan and any of his known or possible associates to try and find out their last possible location, and Theo (with the help of Eddie) was trying to dig as deep as he could into Callaghans life.

"Aha!"

"What?" Draco asked, spinning to look at Theo.

Theo smirked at him, "Callaghan has an ex-wife. She was permitted to annul the marriage after he was tried for adultery and found guilty 3 years ago."

"I don't think she'll be able to help us much if they haven't seen each other for 3 years," Neville pointed out.

"Just because they're divorced doesn't mean they haven't seen each other," Eddie said.

Daphne nodded thoughtfully, "It's at least worth checking out. Do you have an address?"

"Her last known address is in London, as long as she hasn't moved, we're in luck," Eddie said, looking down to the file in his hand.

Theo got to his feet and grinned, "Looks like I'm going fishing," he said as he strutted out of the basement.

Neville frowned and glanced around the others, "Fishing?"

Daphne rolled her eyes, "You're so naïve Longbottom," she teased, "Don't you know what fishing is?"

"Well, I'm assuming it's not the kind where you catch fish and roast them on a campfire," Neville said with some amusement.

Draco chuckled, and Eddie said, "Fishing is what Theo calls it when he goes out trying to seduce rich widows or divorcees. Usually he does it to get money out of them, or something he can sell for a lot of cash. This time he's doing it for information."

"And if Callaghans ex-wife is attractive, he's probably also hoping to sleep with her," Draco remarked.

Eddie chuckled and showed the others the picture on the file of a busty blonde, "Oh yeah, he's definitely going to try and sleep with her."

Draco rolled his eyes and said, "Eddie, Longbottom. I've got a job for you."

They were immediately in front of his desk, and Draco smirked slightly at how eager they were to get out of here, "I've managed to trace the port used to transfer the Erumpent young to Europe. They ship from South Africa to a port in Southern Italy. You still know some Italian Eddie, don't you?"

Eddie smirked, "Oh, Rosa taught me enough to get by on."

Hiding his smirk Draco said, "Well off you go then. Report back when you know something."

Eddie and Neville nodded, leaving the basement as quickly as they could. Once they were gone Daphne sniggered, "Didn't you tell him Rosa was using him for the money?"

"No," Draco said with a slight smile, "If he didn't figure it out when she left the moment the job was over then I didn't want to break his heart by telling him."

Daphne chuckled, "He lacks that Slytherin trait of perception, you'd think Ravenclaws would be good at that."

"It's almost refreshing," Draco said, hiding his smile, "Finding a criminal with that innocent streak. I feel for the guy though, there's been Rosa, and Maria, and those two French twins that he dated at the same time."

"Well that was Theo's influence," Daphne said, flipping through another file as she spoke to him.

"He's given Eddie a lot of confidence though, so it's not all bad," Draco said as he got to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Daphne asked, narrowing her eyes at the man.

"To talk to Granger."

"Why?"

"Because she's the Assistant Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical creatures, and I want to find out if she can tell me anything else about Erumpent fighting," Draco said as he strutted towards the door.

"Well, I'll come with you then," Daphne said quickly.

"No, you'll have to stay here. Someone needs to keep going with the back-up checks," Draco said with a smirk, the last thing he saw as he exited the office was Daphne glowering at him. He chuckled and jogged up the concrete staircase.

He didn't get any funny looks as he walked along the almost deserted corridor. This was the back corridor leading to storerooms and basements, so it gave the team which weren't supposed to exist some privacy. They didn't have an elevator however, so to get to Hermione Grangers office Draco had to jog up the stairs to her level, two floors up.

 _Knock. Knock._

"Come in!" She called politely.

Draco walked in, shutting the door behind him with a snap and turning to face the woman he had antagonised during their school years. She smiled slightly at him from behind her black-rimmed glasses, "So it's true what the rumour mill is saying in the justice department. Draco Malfoy is reformed."

Draco chuckled and sat down across from her, "You could say that, it's a little more complicated. I'm surprised your best friend hasn't told you, he hired me after all."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "Harry, I assume? I doubt Ron will speak to you anytime soon, or ever for that matter."

"Potter, yes," Draco said in amusement.

"He hired you? So you're working in the Auror department? You're an Auror?" Hermione asked in surprise. They weren't friends, but they weren't enemies either, they were two people who enjoyed irritating the other.

"It's a grey area," Draco said with a shrug, "But anyway, that's why I'm here. I'm working on a case about illegal Erumpent fighting."

Hermione sighed, "It's a disgusting thing, they call it a sport," She said distastefully, "What do you need to know?"

"Well, where would they be likely to do it? Do you know anything that could help us track down the place, or the people involved?" Draco asked.

"It will be a team, one man will make sure everything runs and pocket most of the money. But you'll have the importer who is bringing the Erumpent from Africa. Then you will have the exporter. As you may know, when the Erumpent collide one horn explodes, killing the Erumpent. The loser is then the winner, because it's the last one alive. The horn is taken from it and sold on the black market here in Britain, by people like you," Hermione said, a dark look in her eyes.

"Don't make this personal," Draco said with a raised eyebrow, "For your information, I never sold Erumpent horns or anything from a living creature. I sold goods stolen from live humans, and dead ones…."

"So unethical," Hermione muttered.

Draco ignored her, "So you're saying there is an importer and an exporter?"

"Yes, and don't bother looking for a connection, you won't find one. They deliberately pick people to ensure they don't have anything in common. As for your location, well you'll be looking at Bulgaria or Romania. It will be a rural area, an old barn or a farm is where they'll conduct the fights."

Draco nodded and got to his feet, "Alright, thanks a lot for your help Granger."

Hermione only nodded as Draco walked towards the door, he shot a smile back at her, "Don't worry, we'll catch these guys. I hate creature cruelty as much as you do."

He could see that she very much doubted that, but she nodded all the same as Draco slipped out, shutting the door behind him and escaping into the back corridor and the empty concrete stairwell that nobody else used.

GGG.

 _Knock. Knock._

"That you, Draco?" Daphne called out, looking up as the metal door was pushed open.

"Sorry, it's me," Harry said as he walked into the room and looked around, "Just you, is it?"

"Draco left me doing background checks," Daphne said with an eye-roll as Harry sat down nearby her desk.

"Where are the others?"

"Why? Are you checking up on us?" Daphne asked.

"Is it that obvious?" Harry chuckled.

Daphne smiled slightly, after a lot of hours undercover work with the guy, she actually quite liked him, "Yeah, for an Auror you're not very subtle."

"Subtlety has never been my strong point," Harry admitted, "Do you like donuts?" He asked, dropping a box on the table and grabbing one with pink icing and sprinkles.

Daphne took a chocolate one, "If you're bribing me with food you know it will work," She joked.

Harry laughed, "I'm not checking up on you. I just wanted to see how things were coming along, and by the looks of it things are either great because everyone's working or terrible because they're all at the pub."

"Everyone's working, apart from Theo…he went fishing," Daphne said.

"Fishing?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, "For information or women?"

"Uh, both I think. The victim has an ex-wife, and knowing Theo if he can get both, he will," Daphne said as she bit into the chocolate donut.

Harry didn't seem fazed by this, "Well as long as he gets the information that's the main thing."

"Eddie and Longbottom are in Italy, they're trying to identify and track the guy importing the Erumpent from Africa to Europe. We tracked it down to an Italian port, so they could be a while," Daphne said casually.

"And Malfoy?"

"Oh he's with Granger," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "He's trying to find out more about Erumpent fighting so we have an idea of what we're looking for."

Harry frowned slightly, "Hmm."

"He's just in her office, it's not like they're having lunch together," Daphne said in amusement, "Are you jealous?"

"No, of course not," Harry said as he pushed himself to his feet and shoved the last of his donut into his mouth, "Hermione and I are like brother and sister. I just don't want Malfoy screwing her over. Keep an eye on him, if he makes a move on her tell me."

"I'm not your spy Potter," Daphne called as Harry left the basement. He knew she would tell him anyway. Despite the teasing they had become good friends in the last few years. It was hard not to with the amount of cases they had worked on together.

Harry got as far as the top of the stairs before he was met with an obstacle in the form of Draco Malfoy.

"Ah Malfoy," Harry said, stopping in the doorway so that Draco couldn't get past him to go down the stairs.

"What do you want, Potter?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"What are your intentions with Hermione? I know you were in her office," Harry said, watching Draco suspiciously.

Draco frowned, "Uh, I have no intentions. I was just trying to get some information about the case."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "Just don't screw her over. She's been through enough shit without you messing with her."

"I'm not going to screw her over Potter, that's Weasley's job," Draco said casually.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes.

"You don't, you're just going to have to trust me when I say she's not my type," Draco said simply, "So can you quit being overprotective now and let me get back to work?"

Harry observed him for a moment but seemed satisfied as he stepped away from the doorway, "Alright, good luck with the case. Notify me if you find anything else."

"Will do," Draco said as Harry walked off down the hallway. He rolled his eyes and stalked down the concrete stairs, managing to slam open the door which was quite some feat given that it was metal and heavy.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "Granger still frustrating then?"

"Grangers fine, her moral compass is constantly set to ridiculously high, but Potter's the frustrating one," Draco said in annoyance as he sat down heavily at his desk.

Daphne smirked, "Potter's lovely. Look he brought us donuts."

"Give me one of them," Draco said, snatching one of the pink iced donuts which Daphne knew were his favourite.

Daphne's smirk got bigger, "Aw, you and Potter even have the same favourite donut," She joked.

"Shut up," Draco said as he bit into the donut violently, "He had the nerve to question me about the fact I was briefly in his best friend's office," he scoffed.

Daphne sniggered as she pushed the file away and turned to him, "He's probably just looking out for her, his hearts in the right place."

"What would you know about Potters heart?" Draco said with a raised eyebrow.

"Not much, he keeps it pretty guarded. Like I said he wouldn't even sleep with me when we were undercover. I reckon he's one of those old fashioned types, doesn't like sleeping around," Daphne said.

Draco frowned slightly, "Anyway, break over, let's get on with some work."

GGG.

The following morning when Harry walked into the basement it was empty bar one person, and that person was asleep on one of the two sofas. Harry smiled slightly as he kicked the sofa and jolted Draco awake.

"What?" He asked sharply as he sat up and blinked a few times.

"Good morning sunshine," Harry joked, leaning against the doorway, "Don't you have a flat or something?"

"No," Draco said with a glare, "Because you arrested me and seized my assets."

"Ah, right," Harry remembered, "Sorry about that. As soon as we've removed anything illegal, you can have it all back."

Draco yawned, and said sarcastically, "That's very useful, thanks a lot Potter."

"Where are your team? It's 9.30," Harry said, the basement was much emptier than it should have been.

"They'll probably be a little late, they were all investigating leads when we called it a day yesterday," Draco said, performing a few glamour charms to fix his hair and adding, "Next time you decide to wake me up, bring me coffee."

Harry chuckled in amusement as Eddie, Neville and Daphne walked into the room together, Neville carrying disposable coffee cups with him.

"Longbottom, you have the right idea," Draco said, taking the offered coffee and glaring at Harry again.

Neville only chuckled and said, "I figured you'd be here Harry, so I brought you one too."

Harry smiled as he took the coffee and said, "So, any idea where Nott is?"

"Merlin knows," Draco said, beginning to wake up a little.

"I'm here," Theo drawled, walking into the basement and pushing the door shut behind him.

"Where have you been?" Draco asked in slight annoyance, "I've not seen you since 11am yesterday."

"I was getting information from the widow, it was an overnight job," Theo said, taking the coffee Neville offered him and drinking deeply from it.

Daphne snorted, "You don't have to sleep with every woman you try and get information out of," she remarked.

"Don't bicker you two," Draco said, "It's too early for it. Did you get any information, Theo?"

"Oh you know, only a few addresses in Bulgaria where she knows he's held fights in the past," Theo smirked.

"Good," Draco said with a nod, "Eddie, Longbottom, what about you? Did you do anything useful on your day trip to Italy?"

"Bloody hell Malfoy, you're worse than Harry in the morning," Neville remarked in amusement.

Harry rolled his eyes at his friend, and Draco snapped, "Did you find anything?"

"Just answer him, he'll be pissy till his second coffee of the day," Daphne muttered.

"We found the guy, Simba Natini, we saw him take what looked like a shipment of Erumpent," Eddie said, "He was at the port, and it was definitely him. He took the shipment and loaded it into a van, a Muggle van, that's how they're getting through customs, they aren't going through wizarding ones."

"And you didn't talk to him, did you?" Draco asked.

"We didn't talk to him, we watched him all day and put tracking charms on him, they're deep and subtle so he shouldn't pick up on it unless he tries to go through wizarding customs which I don't think he'll do. Like Eddie said, that's how they're getting away with this," Neville said simply, "I checked this morning, the charms are still active and he's in Belgrade, in Serbia."

"So he's definitely en-route for Bulgaria," Draco said brightening up a little, "What were the locations you got from the ex-wife, Theo?"

"There were three, all in rural Bulgaria close to the border with Romania," Theo said, "They are isolated in the countryside but the closest place names I could get were Butan, Brest and Kubrat."

"Well we're closer than we were 24 hours ago," Draco said hopefully, "Longbottom, at the rate Natini is travelling, when will he arrive?"

"Well, that depends on which location Callaghan is using, between 5 and 8 hours I reckon," Neville said, and Eddie nodded his agreement.

"I reckon your next step is to go to Bulgaria. Try and get there before Natini does," Harry piped up from the sofa.

Draco nodded, "I agree Potter, but before we go anywhere we need a plan."

"And you have one, I can tell, you have that look in your eye you get when you think you have a good idea," Theo said matter of factly.

Draco shot the man a glare, "I do have a plan, but whether or not it will actually work is another story. Obviously this is a sensitive job which means if anyone goes in they do so undercover. Daphne, you're the obvious choice but since you're well known in certain circles you're going to have to go in under glamour."

Daphne nodded, "Alright, I'm fine with that."

"Someone else will be going in with you, posing as your boyfriend. He'll be going there to bet on the animals and watch the fight, and you'll be your useful sexy self. That's going to be the key to getting this guy."

"He's a sleazebag so it should work," Harry said, trying to keep his input to a minimum.

"Look mate," Theo said, "We all know undercover isn't my thing, I'll be much more use to you on the sidelines."

Daphne grinned, "We all know it can't be Theo, he's too scared of me so Eddie?"

"No," Draco said, taking her by surprise, "Longbottom?"

Neville raised an eyebrow at Draco, "Me? I don't tend to do much undercover work. Harry normally snaps it up."

"You'll be fine," Harry said, patting Neville on the shoulder, "Good luck. If you get him bring him directly to me," he said as he left the basement.

"Weren't you an Auror? Aren't they all meant to be good at undercover?" Eddie asked Neville.

Neville shrugged, "I didn't say I'm not good at it. It's just been a while since I did it. I've been fired for 6 months, and when I was an Auror Harry tended to take all the undercover jobs."

Daphne nodded thoughtfully, and Draco said, "Then here's your shot to prove you're good at it. You'll both be going in under glamour, just don't screw it up Longbottom."

"Thanks for that excellent advice," Neville said sarcastically, but Draco was ignoring him and talking to Eddie and Theo.

"While they are undercover you two are going to be hard at work putting tracking charms on everyone so if there's some scuffle we know where they've gone afterwards. We aren't letting them slip through our hands. Got it?"

"Got it," Eddie and Theo said in unison.

"I'm going to keep an eye on things from the side-lines. If anything goes wrong I'll come in and sort it out," Draco said, "We might have to re-evaluate once we get there but for the moment that's your guideline. We'll apparate to Butan and take it from there."

There were nods all around and Draco pushed himself to his feet, "Let's get a move on then."

* * *

Once they were all in Butan the game was on. They sat down in a café to discuss their next move.

"Natini has just crossed the border between Serbia and Bulgaria, he'll be in Butan in 2 and a half hours."

"If Butan is the right place," Daphne pointed out, "Can you tell by his route where he is going?"

Eddie shook his head, "We can only tell that he's using Muggle roads. We'll know soon enough if he diverts his route whether he's coming here or going further west."

"Good," Draco said thoughtfully, "You two need to get ready, just in case. Feel like being a brunette Daphne?"

Daphne shrugged, "I'll try anything once," She said in amusement.

They finished their coffee and left the café, ducking into an abandoned building to transform Daphne and Neville. By the time they were done Daphne had dark brown hair, brown eyes, and had changed into something a lot skimpier. Neville had also undergone a clothing change into a lot of leather which he felt incredibly uncomfortable in.

"Leather robes?" He had exclaimed, "Do I really have to wear those?"

However, he had been wrestled into them. His hair was jet black, and his eyes dark blue. They looked unrecognisable.

"Stick some glasses on you, and you'd look like Potter," Daphne said with a chuckle.

Draco cocked his head at Neville, "Yeah, if you had green eyes instead of blue you would look a bit like him," He agreed.

"Uh, guys," Eddie said with a frown, "He just diverted his route."

"Towards here?" Draco asked sharply.

Eddie nodded, "Doesn't look like he'll come through the centre though, he seems to be heading for a rural area a little north of here."

"Good," Draco said, "Let's get a move on. We need to scope out the area. Granger said old barns and farm buildings are ideal locations for his fights so look for that sort of thing. Eddie, Theo, you're with me. Daphne, Longbottom, stay together."

They nodded as Eddie gave them co-ordinates. They spun and with a collective crack they all vanished.

* * *

"So, what's the deal with you never doing undercover work?" Daphne asked as she and Neville sat atop a tree, scanning the countryside for any sort of building Callaghan could be using.

Neville shrugged, "I just tended to let Harry do it."

"He did so many undercover jobs with me," Daphne said thoughtfully, "At first I thought he had a thing for me, but he wouldn't sleep with me. So obviously that wasn't why he was doing the undercover work. Why does he do it?"

"Honestly, Harry doesn't like who he is," Neville said with a frown, "He doesn't think he's a good person. He's convinced a lot of people have died because of him. Any chance he gets to be someone else, he takes it."

Daphne was silent as she took this in.

"Greengrass, could that be it?" Neville said, looking to the east at an old outhouse with several trucks outside of it.

"Looks promising," Daphne said, tapping her ear three times, "Draco?"

"Yeah?" His voice said into her ear, "You got something?"

"Longbottom spotted it and it looks promising," She said, telling him the co-ordinates and jumping down from the tree. She and Neville bumped into Draco, Eddie and Theo halfway across the field to the outhouse.

"That's it, we just saw Callaghan go in," Eddie said under his breath.

"So what now?" Theo asked.

"We infiltrate it," Neville said simply.

"Yes, but how? You can't just walk in there, he'll wonder how you knew where it was," Eddie pointed out.

"I did background checks all day yesterday, I know all of Callaghan's old acquaintances. When did he start using this place, Theo?" Daphne asked.

"According to his ex-wife he's been using it for five years," Theo replied.

"Well I know a handful of people who Callaghan worked with, I'll say one of them told us about the place," Daphne said simply.

Draco nodded, "Be careful, and remember, you are officially Arcturus and Athena the moment you walk into that place. Don't mention your real names, or any of us. If you need pulled out give me the emergency signal."

"Don't worry Draco, I've done a fair bit of this in my time," Daphne said with a slight smile.

Draco nodded, "I know, but this guy is a nasty piece of work. We've set up a work station in a tree nearby, close enough to watch whose coming and going, and close enough to get you two out if need be."

"Got it," Daphne said, turning to Neville, "Ready, Arcturus?"

Neville smirked, "Ready, Athena," he said, slipping his arm into hers as they walked out of the long grass towards the outhouse.

"Come on," Draco muttered, "Let's get out of sight and start monitoring who comes and goes from that house. I want as many people tracked and identified as possible."

Theo nodded, and as they began the walk back to their temporary work station Eddie said, "Natini has stopped in Lorn, he's just under an hour's drive away from where we are now."

"I still can't believe he's using Muggle transport," Theo said distastefully.

"He's doing it because he's smart and he knows the wizarding authorities don't monitor it," Eddie said honestly.

Draco smirked and said, "I knew Potter had a point when he told me I needed a half-blood or a muggle-born on my team."

Eddie smiled slightly, surprised to hear his blood status as a compliment. In the criminal world it was usually used as an insult against him, and it had been the cause of many a fight he had been involved in when he first started doing jobs with Theo.

* * *

As they reached the outhouse Neville slipped his hand into Daphne's and they fell into character. They walked in without any resistance. Although on the outside this appeared to be an outhouse, on the inside it was so much more. In the centre of the large room was a pit, sunken into the floor with two gates which housed small Erumpents behind them. Around the pit were seats, and at one side was a bar. The place was already bustling with people dressed like Neville and Daphne, they blended in seamlessly with their surroundings.

A tall, attractive man walked over to them, "Well who we got here then? Don't think I've seen you two around here before."

Daphne grinned, "I reckon you've seen me before Mr. Callaghan. Athena Blacklaw, we met a few years back at that big dragon tournament in Romania."

"Ah," Callaghan said, his charm already turned on high, "Now you mention it…rings a bell. You weren't one of the marvelous three girls they sent up when my dragon won?"

"That would be me," Daphne said smoothly.

"And who's this bloke you've got with you?" Callaghan asked, surveying Neville.

"Arcturus Cartwright," Daphne said offhandedly.

"Cartwright? Don't recognise the name."

"He's Irish," Daphne said.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Callaghan asked, his eyes flicking from Neville to Daphne.

"I can speak for meself," Neville said in a broad, and very good Irish accent, "And yes, I am her boyfriend."

Callaghan smirked, "You've got balls Cartwright, nice to meet you."

Neville shook the man's hand, "And you, I've heard a lot about you in Ireland. I hear this is the place to make meself a fast profit."

"Oh definitely, but if you bet wrong it's the place to lose a fortune," Callaghan said with a laugh.

"I never bet wrong," Neville said smoothly.

Callaghan smiled, "I like you even more. Enjoy the fight boyo, as your Irish comrades would say," he winked at Daphne, "If you get bored of the Irishman…" He left the sentence hanging and walked away.

"Nice accent," Daphne whispered.

Neville smirked, "Turns you on, doesn't it?"

"Don't get your hopes up," Daphne said, shooting a smirk his way, "Get me a drink, let's scope this place out."

Neville grinned, "Sure, but I'm going to kill you for this. I'm going to have to keep this Irish accent up all day."

* * *

"What do you reckon they're doing in there?" Eddie asked.

"Talking to people, blending in," Draco replied offhandedly, "It's getting pretty busy in there now. I think the fight must start at around 3…I don't expect many more people will be turning up."

"Apart from Natini, he's about 5 minutes away at the moment," Theo said.

"And if he's bringing the Erumpent, the fight won't start without him," Eddie added.

"He might be bringing more, but there will be some in there anyway…There don't seem to be any wards, Daphne and Longbottom walked in there easily enough. They probably do have silencing charms up though, so we won't hear anything out here."

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Neville asked as he sat down at a table off to one side of the pit. Daphne slipped onto his knee with ease and said, "We'll have to let the fight happen. Then I'll seduce Callaghan, get him to confess to impress me and cuff him."

"Sounds like a plan," Neville muttered.

"Until then, act natural," Daphne said.

"How do we do that?" Neville asked quietly.

"Like this," Daphne whispered, leaning down and kissing him.

* * *

"That's Natini," Eddie whispered as a truck pulled up and a bald African man jumped out of the driver's seat.

They waited and watched as he pulled open the back of the truck and hauled out 4 crates, he opened one and they got a look inside. Each crate contained one Erumpent.

"Four of them," Draco whispered as a man came out and helped Natini take the crates inside. They put tracking charms on him and did an identification charm. Adding him to the portfolio of people the Auror office could prosecute. Eddie was noting things down, and Theo was taking photographs on a wizarding camera.

When all of the crates were inside, Natini locked up the truck and entered the barn.

"It's starting," Draco whispered.

* * *

"It's starting," Daphne said, pulling Neville to his feet, "You put a bet down didn't you?"

"Yeah, on the one you told me to," Neville said, as they walked to the front of the crowd, "You've got to look eager, and excited," She whispered in his ear. Neville nodded, and with a shout the fight began as the two young Erumpent were released from behind bars.

It was brutal, and fast. Trying to pretend he was enjoying it was hell for Neville, and it wasn't exactly easy for Daphne either but they managed and when Neville's Erumpent lost Daphne whispered for him to make a big deal of it. He swore and shouted, "You stupid bitch! Telling me to vote on the wrong bloody animal! What do you think you're playing at?"

Daphne glared at him and slapped him, "It's not my fault you're useless!" She snapped, stalking away from him to the other side of the stands around the pit. Neville glared at her as she went, and the next fight began as two new Erumpent were released into the arena. Daphne cheered along with the others, and as the third fight began she felt a presence from behind her.

"Ditched the Irishman?" Callaghan's smooth voice asked.

Daphne smiled slightly as she turned around to face the men, "He just lost a fortune and blamed it on me."

Callaghan tutted, "Not much of a man at all."

"He was never powerful enough for me," Daphne whispered in Callaghan's ear, "Far more of a follower than a leader, if you catch my drift."

"Ah, a phoney?" Callaghan asked, snaking an arm around Daphne, "After my Erumpent wins, I'll show you a powerful man."

"What if your Erumpent doesn't win?" Daphne challenged him.

"It always does," Callaghan smirked.

Daphne turned her attention back to the fight just in time to see Callaghan's Erumpent win. Callaghan chuckled and said, "See now, I told you," as he gently led her away. She let him do so, letting him take her behind the bar and up a set of stairs to some sort of makeshift bedroom.

"So you reckon you're a powerful man, huh?" Daphne asked as he pressed her against the wall.

"Powerful?" Callaghan chuckled, "I don't think that word is strong enough to describe what I am."

"And what exactly is that?" Daphne asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes as Callaghan pressed his lips against her neck and lifted her with ease, she wrapped her legs around his waist and let him pull her top off, wondering how far this would have to go before she could get information from him. In any other case this would be enjoyable, but the man was a scumbag, even if he was a good looking one, and she was on duty.

"I am a criminal overlord," Callaghan smirked, "I can do whatever I want, and whoever I want. I own everything illegal this side of Europe."

"And the rest too, I bet," Daphne said in between his bristly kisses, "A man like you could rule the world."

"Not the world yet sweetheart," Callaghan mumbled, "Just Europe."

Daphne grinned, "Now this is the kind of powerful man that turns me on."

Callaghan smirked, "Well you feel free to come by any of my fights any time you need a thrill, I'll always be happy to help."

"I'll keep that in mind," Daphne said with a grin as she let the man kiss her again. While she had him sufficiently distracted she pulled her wand out of its holster under her skirt and with the small amount of wordless magic she knew bound his hands and legs. They snapped together as the bonds curled around them. Daphne gracefully untangled herself from him as he fell back onto the bed.

"Mr. Callaghan, you have just admitted to several illegal actions, including owning an establishment used for illegal Erumpent handling. I am going to have to hand you over to the British Ministry of Magic."

"You fucking-"

With a flick of her wand Daphne used a silencing charm and conjured a red piece of cloth. She yanked open the dirty window and waved it a few times, hoping by now that the others would be on the lookout for the signal.

Daphne smirked at Callaghan as he glared at her, and a few seconds later Neville soared through the window, landing silently just as Daphne was putting her top back on. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she rolled her eyes in response. They attached Callaghan to a board and put a feather light charm on him. For good measure they stunned him and tied the board to both of their brooms. They got him out of the window that way, and landed close by the tree that the others were using as a base. The moment they saw Daphne and Neville coming they dropped down and with Callaghan in tow apparated back to the justice department in the Ministry.

"Keep an eye on him, I'll get Potter," Draco said, taking the stairs at a jog and crossing the threshold of his dull, old, out of use corridor, to the vibrant, busy corridor of the actual, legal justice department. He kept his head down as he walked along the corridor and slipped into the office shared by Harry, Ron and their two junior Aurors.

"Got him," Draco said as Harry looked up and caught his eye.

"Really?" Harry asked, getting to his feet hopefully.

"Yep, he's downstairs in the basement," Draco said.

Harry grinned, "Excellent. Ron, keep an eye on things here, I'll be back as soon as I can."

Without waiting for Ron to say anything Harry got up and followed Draco into the back corridor, down the concrete steps and into the basement. His grin widened when he saw Callaghan in a state of semi-undress.

"Nice work Greengrass," Harry said, shooting a look at the woman who was back to her normal self, but still wearing the undercover clothes, he caught a glimpse of Neville in his leather gear and sniggered.

"Nice look Nev."

"Fuck off Harry," Neville said half-heartedly.

Harry grinned, "I assume you did all the work, Greengrass?"

"The arresting him part anyway, yeah," Daphne said with a slight smile, "It wasn't exactly hard mind you. Here's his confession," She handed him a vial with a memory in it, "Do whatever tests you need to do, it's legit."

"Great," Harry said happily.

"And we thought you might want this," Eddie said, handing Harry a camera and a file, "The names of everyone we clocked going in and out of that barn, including pictures. Hopefully that should be enough to bring them down."

Harry looked genuinely impressed, "Good work, all of you. I'm going to take Callaghan up and start an interrogation. Merlin knows how long that will take…or the paperwork on this. I'll be back with pizza, you need to celebrate closing your first successful case after all," He said in amusement as with a flick of his wand Callaghan was floating along behind him out of the door.

* * *

Harry was true to his promise, they could smell the pizza before he walked into the basement, dropping the two large boxes on Draco's desk.

"Potter, you are a lifesaver," Daphne said, opening the boxes and grabbing a slice.

"Cheers, Potter," Eddie said, also grabbing a slice.

"Yeah, thanks Potter," Theo said reluctantly.

Neville just shot Harry a grin as he walked towards the door, "You did a good job, you deserve it."

"Are you leaving?" Draco asked in surprise.

"This is your team," Harry said simply, "I'm not a part of it."

"You can stay though, you did buy the pizza and all," Draco said.

Harry wasn't sure what to make of that, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, you are kind of our boss after all," Neville said in amusement.

Harry chuckled and moved away from the door, grabbing a slice of pizza and sitting down on Neville's desk, "Alright then."

"That didn't take much persuasion," Daphne said in amusement.

"You made a convincing argument, and I'm starving. Ron ate my lunch, bloody git doesn't understood labels on food," Harry grumbled.

"That's probably because he can't read," Draco said with a smirk, biting into the slice of pizza he had just grabbed from the box.

Harry rolled his eyes, but didn't defend his supposed best friend. The others got the impression he was quite fed up with Ron.

"You know for a first case, I think we did pretty well," Theo said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, better than I expected actually," Harry said in amusement.

Draco narrowed his eyes at the former Gryffindor, "Potter you have always been horrendous at lying, or keeping secrets. What did you do?"

Harry grinned, "Well Malfoy, the thing is…you know how you guys spent a day finding all the information, tracking everyone down?"

"Yes…" Draco said suspiciously.

"We knew it all," Harry said simply.

"What?" Daphne snapped, "I spent a whole frigging day doing background checks that you had already done?"

"What's the deal with that, Scarhead?" Theo asked testily.

"It was a test, you stupid git," Eddie said with a roll of his eyes, "Wasn't it?"

Harry nodded, smiling slightly, "We had the guy, but we couldn't arrest him. We weren't allowed to go near his establishments, or send in anyone undercover. It was all down to legal restrictions, I figured I'd give you it as a test to see how you worked. Given how quickly you solved it, I can say you've definitely passed the test."

"I suppose we ought to take that as a compliment, coming from the great Harry Potter," Draco said in amusement.

Harry scoffed, "Great? I'd have thought you of all people would know that I'm definitely not great Malfoy. You're one of the few people who stopped admiring me for long enough to see how messed up I was when we were at school."

"That implies I admired you in the first place," Draco remarked distastefully.

"Well you did offer me friendship before you started to hate my guts," Harry pointed out thoughtfully, "I wonder how things might have been different if I'd become friends with you that day, instead of Ron."

"Oh he wondered too," Theo said sarcastically, "About twice a week for all of first year. The whole dorm had to hear about it."

Harry grinned as Draco threw a quill at Theo who ducked and sniggered.

"You never could stop talking about me at school," Harry said in amusement.

"Even if it was just to insult you," Neville said with a chuckle.

"Exactly," Draco said dryly, but he was hiding a smile.

Harry laughed and Theo asked, "So is it true about you and Daphne?"

"Is what true?" Daphne asked with narrowed eyes.

"That you're the only guy to ever turn her down," Eddie remarked.

Daphne snorted, "He's not really the _only_ guy to turn me down."

"But I did turn her down," Harry admitted.

"Why?" Theo asked, "Besides the obvious criminal serial shagger and murderer thing."

"Well that was pretty much it," Harry said in amusement.

"Damn your bloody moral integrity," Daphne teased with a smirk as she remembered the time they were discussing…

 _It had been a long week, Harry was a trainee Auror and had been assigned to a 'victim' while she hid out in a safe house. He was the Auror left to babysit her, because that was what trainee Aurors did, the jobs nobody else wanted._

 _Daphne Greengrass was tall, blonde and highly attractive and she had been flirting with him all week, but he had just ignored her. She was here because her boyfriend Blaise Zabini had been killed, and she was now scared for her own life._

 _On this particular evening he was fed up and tired, but when he opened the door to his bedroom Daphne was lying in his bed._

" _Uh, what are you doing here?" Harry asked with a frown._

" _Isn't this my room?" Daphne asked innocently._

" _No, your room is next door," Harry said shortly._

" _Oh," Daphne said with a shrug, "They look the same."_

" _Well they aren't, this is my room so get out," Harry said._

" _Oh I don't know, I'm here now. We should just make the most of it," Daphne said with a grin as she threw back the covers. She was only in her underwear and Harry shook his head in disbelief, "Your boyfriend literally just died!"_

" _Valid point," Daphne said with a solemn nod, "Comfort me?"_

" _No," Harry said in disbelief, "I'm an Auror, I have to stay professional."_

" _You're a trainee Auror," Daphne pointed out with a sly smile, "So that means you don't have to be as professional."_

" _No, it means I have to be more professional because they can sack me easier," Harry said._

" _They wouldn't sack you," Daphne scoffed, "You're the_ _ **great**_ _Harry Potter, the chosen one, the boy wonder, the saviour of us all."_

" _Alright you can stop taking the piss now," Harry said with a slight smile._

 _Daphne got to her feet, "Oh come on Potter, it will be fun."_

" _Seriously Greengrass, I am not having sex with you," Harry said finally._

 _Daphne sighed, "Am I really that repulsive?" She asked._

" _What?" Harry asked with a frown, "No, no, of course not. I just know what you're doing here, I know what this is."_

" _Do you?"_

 _Harry nodded, "You use sex as a safety mechanism to stop people hurting you, or to stop you from hurting other people. I'm not sure which, but you do it because you're afraid to form lasting relationships."_

 _Daphne shot him a glare, "You really think I'm doing that now? Just after my boyfriend has died? And he's not the first one, everybody leaves me!"_

" _Daphne, I'm sorry," Harry began, "I didn't realise how much you had been through."_

" _And that's not all!" Daphne said, tears burning in her eyes, "After the war my Father sold me to a group of thieves to be their sex slave, and then when they got bored of me they dumped me on the street in the rain!"_

" _Hang on…" Harry said with a frown, "I had a fling with your sister not long after the war and she didn't mention any of that. Not to mention I've_ _ **met**_ _your Father and he doesn't seem the type to sell his daughter to thieves."_

" _You had a fling with my sister?" Daphne asked in disbelief._

" _Uh, who hasn't had a fling with Astoria Greengrass? She's almost as bad as you are," Harry said with a raised eyebrow, "And she tried to kill me for my money."_

 _Daphne rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath, "She always has to copy me."_

 _Harry's frown deepened, "What? Hang on a minute…oh no…you… you killed Blaise Zabini! Didn't you?"_

" _Oops," Daphne said, "Time to go!" and in seconds she had apparated through the wards of the safe house._

"And that was how we first met," Daphne said in amusement.

"You were outsmarted by her," Eddie said with a chuckle.

"I was impressed she found the loop in my wards," Harry admitted, "But they are better these days. I was young and inexperienced then. But I did find out she had killed Blaise Zabini."

"But you didn't manage to catch her," Draco pointed out.

"But I've caught her now," Harry smirked, "She's working for the Ministry, isn't she?"

"Technically it was Draco who caught me," Daphne pointed out casually, "With that evidence he had on Blaise's death. I mean if you hadn't been drinking that night Potter your memory of my confession would have been enough. I bet you regretted that firewhiskey."

Harry rolled his eyes and got to his feet, "You're on the right side now," He said simply, "And technically all that means is I outsmarted Draco."

Draco rolled his eyes back, "No you didn't, I just agreed to your terms."

"Because you had no choice," Harry smirked, "Unless you wanted to spend 10 years in Azkaban."

"You've got to admit Draco, he's good," Theo said grudgingly.

"He's alright," Draco said with a glare in Harry's direction.

Harry laughed, "Well, I've got paperwork to do tonight, so I'd best be off. I'll be back around midnight Nev, so lock the door."

"Will do," Neville said as Harry left the basement. Neville turned to the others who were looking at him suspiciously, "What?"

"Do you live together?" Daphne asked in surprise.

"Uh, yeah, we share a flat," Neville said with a frown, "We have done for years. What's the big deal?"

"Well that's surprising," Theo said, "That the golden boy and his sidekick are living together."

"Fuck off Theo," Neville said dryly.

"I always thought he'd end up living with Weasley," Draco said, "And does that mean Potter lives in that hovel we found you in?"

"Not exactly," Neville said sheepishly, "That was kind of a ruse to get you to hire me. I wasn't fired for killing that death eater, but I was on suspension. Harry wanted me on this team to keep an eye on it, but he knew you wouldn't accept his offer unless I'd fallen from grace."

"Bastard!" Draco remarked.

"Clever bastard," Daphne said sounding impressed, "He played you good Draco."

"He played all of you," Neville said with a smirk, "But this is quite good, you've got to admit."

"It is kind of rewarding," Theo admitted.

Eddie nodded, "As far as my work experience goes, this is practically fun."

"Potter is still going to get his arse kicked for this," Draco mumbled.

The others ignored him, and Theo asked, "So how come Potter doesn't live with Weasel?"

Neville snorted, "Him and Ron would kill each other. It was bad enough when we all shared a dorm, Harry and me don't fight. But him and Ron fight pretty much constantly."

"Isn't it awkward?" Draco asked, "When you bring women home?"

"Sometimes," Neville admitted, "But only when it's someone that we both know…"

"Oh come on, spill the beans, who did he bring home that you knew?" Daphne asked eagerly.

"Well actually, I brought home one of his exes…" Neville admitted sheepishly, "He was supposed to be at work till late, but he got home early…we destroyed half the flat in the duel that followed."

"Which ex?" Draco asked in amusement.

"She-Weasel?" Theo asked.

"Nah, Ginny's like a sister to me," Neville said offhandedly, "And I don't think I should name and shame."

"I think you should," Eddie said.

"Yeah, come on mate, tell us," Theo added.

"Cho Chang," Neville said quickly, "Harry dated her in 5th year and it was a complete train wreck because Cedric tied them together and he had just died. I went on a few dates with her a couple of years ago, it didn't last very long but she was Harry's first girlfriend so he wasn't happy."

Eddie whistled, "Cho Chang. It always is the quiet ones."

They all chuckled and ate pizza, and Theo pulled out a stash of butterbeer. It felt good, they were getting closer already, and they worked well together. They were really starting to feel like a team.

 **TBC :)  
**


	5. Free Love

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 5 - Free Love  
**

Over the next few weeks the team began to work together better and better. They did smaller jobs than their first big mission. It mostly involved catching people who hadn't showed up to their Wizengamot trials and bringing them in so they could be persecuted. Coming up with inventive schemes to catch the criminals was fun, but it wasn't much of a challenge given that these criminals were as thick as two planks of wood.

However, around a month after the team had been created a new case arose…a far more personal one.

Harry walked into their office not long after midday, a solemn look on his face and a file in his hands. The others fell silent, and Draco asked hopefully, "You got a case for us?"

Harry shook his head, and frowned, "Malfoy, I think we should talk in private."

Draco frowned, "Whatever you want to tell me, you might as well do it here. They've all read my file."

"If you're sure," Harry sighed, sitting down on the edge of Draco's desk, "As you know, when we arrested you we seized your assets. We've been looking through the things we found and one of those things is a file of your Fathers."

"And?" Draco asked.

"And the file is a marriage agreement," Harry said quietly, "Binding you to another by magic."

Draco's frown deepened, "Who?"

"The eldest eligible female Greengrass," Harry said.

"Astoria," Daphne murmured from where she was sitting at the desk next to Draco's, "Since I've been disowned and all."

Theo's eyes widened, "Shit man, that's not good."

Eddie shook his head, "Bloody hell, sorry mate."

Harry sighed and Neville looked confused. Daphne saw this and elaborated, "My sister is a bitch, and a nasty piece of work as you well know Harry since she tried to kill you for your money."

Draco sighed, "Well, I should have seen it coming I suppose. I was surprised that there hadn't been one as of yet."

"Surely there's a way to break it?" Eddie asked, seeing that Draco's face had paled significantly.

"It's a typical magical marriage contract," Harry admitted, "The only way out is if one of you dies, or is put in Azkaban for a serious offence."

"A serious offence constituting a rape, a murder or manslaughter," Neville added.

The room was silent momentarily and then Daphne said, "Well we could always set the house on fire, it wouldn't be hard to make it look accidental."

Harry turned to Daphne in surprise, "She's your sister and your first thought is how to kill her, rather than how to incriminate her?"

"She's a fucking bitch, and if she did kick the bucket my Father might reconsider disowning me," Daphne said matter of factly.

"Merlin Daphne, you're a cold bitch," Theo said bitterly, "Look, our best shot at getting Draco out of this is incriminating Astoria, like Potter said."

"No, that is not what I said," Harry said sharply, "Look, I believe in free love as much as the next guy, but I will not stand by and watch you put a woman in Azkaban for something she hasn't done. If she really has committed a crime and I can help you prove it, then that's another story."

Draco sighed and got to his feet, "No, this is stupid. I'll marry her, but for now I need some air."

He slipped past Harry up the stairs and Harry followed him, catching him in the back corridor, "Draco, stop and listen to me for a moment."

Draco turned around, glaring at the former Gryffindor, "Potter, quit trying to save everyone. You should have learned by now, it's a tough world. Sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do."

"Yes, but marrying someone you don't even like, let alone love?" Harry asked sharply, "What kind of life is that? Maybe you think I don't understand these pureblood matters, but hear me out. I nearly married Ginny, and that would have been the same loveless marriage that you're considering, one to save face, to do what the public wanted me to do. But I didn't, and in retrospect I'm glad I didn't. Think about this before you make a decision either way, that's all I'm asking."

Draco fixed Harry with a steely gaze, "I'm not you Potter, I don't have a choice."

"Yes, you do," Harry said, "And your team are going to be willing to help you in any way they can. Just go back in there and see if they can unearth anything."

Draco didn't say anything, his gaze still firmly on Harry who started to feel very uncomfortable. He shuffled awkwardly from his right foot to his left foot waiting for Draco to say something.

"You're willing to put someone in jail to avoid me having to marry her?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow, "I'm the guy who treated you like crap for years, you can't have just forgotten about all of that."

"I have actually," Harry said, "I try my best to forget about everything that happened in the war, and regardless of what the history books and the papers say, the war started in 1981 for me."

Draco wasn't used to hearing the bitterness in Harry's voice, and it unnerved him a little. Harry could tell, and that made Draco all the more uncomfortable.

"You really don't care?"

"All I care about at the moment is the fact that one of my colleagues may be forced to marry someone who he doesn't want to marry, and I want to find a way out of that situation for him," Harry said honestly, "And it also helps that I had a slightly ill-conceived fling with Astoria after the war and she tried to kill me for my fortune. Unfortunately I was kind of an alcoholic at the time so my memory of the event wouldn't be legitimate in court otherwise I would gladly use it to help you."

Draco smiled slightly, "Alright, have it your way. I'll see if they can unearth anything."

Harry returned his smile, "I'll get my best people on it my side of the wall too," He said, patting Draco on the shoulder as he walked past him and through the door into the main department.

Draco watched him go and stood in the cold corridor for a moment collecting his thoughts. With a deep breath he retreated down the stairwell. He could hear the team talking under their breath but the moment he walked in they all fell silent and stared at him.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Don't try and pretend you weren't digging into Astoria Greengrass, I've had a change of heart. Theo, Daphne, you two are going into Astoria's life. Theo, as a lover, Daphne, you're going to reconnect on a sisterly-love basis."

Daphne scoffed, and Theo's face fell. Neville raised an eyebrow at Draco, "What did Harry do to change your mind so fast?"

"Let's just say he's more persuasive than I gave him credit for in Hogwarts," Draco said offhandedly, "Right, Eddie, Longbottom, get digging into her past, look for anything suspicious. Eddie, I want you to stay here and follow the paper trail. Longbottom, you'll be talking to acquaintances and friends, hang around Knockturn Alley for long enough and something useful might pop up. And both of you, apparently she had a fling with Potter and tried to kill him for his fortune, try and find anything else you can on that."

Eddie nodded, "I'll go badger Burton for the files," he said with a smirk as he left the office.

Neville got to his feet too, "I've got a haunt in Knockturn Alley, if anything would show up, it would be there."

"Wait, Draco," Daphne said with a frown, "Do you really think it's a good idea sending a recovering alcoholic to work in a bar all day?"

Neville shot her a glare, "Greengrass, a word."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "Excuse me?"

"Listen to the man, he's the second in command. You better go and have that word with him," Draco said sternly.

With a roll of her eyes Daphne followed Neville out of the room and into the corridor above, "What's this about Longbottom?"

"Greengrass, I'm quite capable of controlling myself. My reliance on alcohol has no effect on my judgement or more importantly my job," Neville said coolly.

"I just don't think it's a good idea to be in a pub all day with all that temptation-"

"I don't need you to look after me," Neville snapped, "And I'm not as much of an alcoholic as you think. I did slip slightly after that murder, but I played on it to get Draco to let me join the team. Drop it, and let me get on with my job."

"Alright," Daphne said, "Are we done here?"

Neville just nodded so she turned on her heel and stalked back down the stairs into the room, she sat down heavily at her desk, ignoring Draco's smirk. Daphne Greengrass had never liked to do what she was told.

"Okay, Daphne and Theo. Here's the plan. Theo, you're going to bump into Astoria in a pub under glamour and with a fake identity. You're going to charm her and sleep with her, then you're going to slip her a sleeping draught and search Greengrass manor for anything that could incriminate her," Draco said simply.

"You make it sound so easy," Theo grumbled.

"Forget about the fact she's a bitch," Neville said as he returned to the room, "She's still hot, just focus on that till she's out cold."

Theo shrugged, "When you put it that way…"

Daphne rolled her eyes, "And what do you expect me to do Draco? Waltz back into her life and act all apologetic? Because that is not fucking happening."

"Look, I know you hate your family Daph," Draco said quietly, "But I do too, I don't want to marry into it. All you have to do is temporarily slip back into their lives until this is over, and then you can go back to living your life. I've never asked you to do anything for me before Daphne, but I'm asking you now, please."

Daphne's eyes, which were usually steely and cold, softened and she nodded, "Alright, what do you want me to do?"

Draco gave her a slight smile, "Try and get close to Astoria again, apologise, say you're making amends and trying to get your life back on track. If you can, try and wrangle your way back in with your Father too, if you can get close to any information…"

"I can tell you a bunch of stuff I know she was involved with," Daphne said honestly, "But I don't have any solid evidence to prove it."

"Which is why you need to get back in there, even if it is only briefly," Neville said, gently squeezing her shoulder as he walked past.

She shrugged his hand off and said, "Please don't touch me Longbottom," as she pushed past him to her desk.

Neville opened his mouth to speak, but Draco shook his head at the former Gryffindor and said quietly, "This is a touchy subject, just leave her alone till it's over."

* * *

"Do I look like her type?" Theo asked the team. He was under glamour charms which made him taller, musclier and gave him blonde hair.

"You have a dick, you're her type," Daphne said shortly.

"You also look like Draco," Eddie said in amusement, "And considering she's in a marriage contract with him I'd say that means yes, you look her type."

Theo nodded, "Good point."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Just do your job, seduce her and see what happens."

"What if she tries to kill me?" Theo asked.

"That's what we want her to do dumbass," Eddie remarked, "So we can use your memory and try her for attempted murder."

"But I mean what if she _really_ tries? I know I'm good, but Daphne nearly got me a couple of times," Theo said anxiously.

"She's not as good as me," Daphne said simply, "And I didn't really want to kill you Theo, that's why you're still alive."

"That's so comforting, thanks," Theo said sarcastically.

"Just go and do it," Draco said with a wave of his hand.

Theo grumbled all the way out of the door, but he left all the same, and Draco turned to Daphne, "Your first stop is the Manor and your Father. Make up some cock and bull story about how you've seen the light, and then let him tell Astoria you've visited before you approach her."

Daphne nodded, making it clear how much she hated this plan.

"I'll buy you a drink when it's over," Draco promised.

"You better buy me a bar," Daphne said bitterly as she turned on her heel and left the basement.

"This is going well," Neville said sarcastically.

"It will be fine when it's over," Draco sighed, "Potter did say this was the nature of the job, some cases are personal, they make people sensitive."

"When did he say that?" Neville asked in amusement.

"About a month ago, after I punched him for lying to me about you," Draco said with a slight smirk, "But anyway, back to the case…Eddie you are on general look-out for anything illegal Astoria has done. Longbottom, you are on the Potter attempted murder case. The attempted murder of slimy criminal Theodore Nott won't hold up in court unless combined with another offence."

"Like the attempted murder of the all-holy, chosen golden boy of wonder," Eddie teased.

Neville laughed, "I'm on it," he said as he made for the door, "But it will require a lot of research so I might be a while."

Draco nodded, and Eddie grinned, "Well then, off to badger Burton about getting Astoria's file."

He walked briskly towards the door, and Draco could only roll his eyes in amusement at the man's infatuation with the Junior Auror through the wall.

* * *

The bar Theo found Astoria in was high-end for Knockturn Alley, but that didn't surprise him from what he knew about the girl. He and Daphne weren't that close, but he had heard her talk about her younger sister often.

The bar was practically empty and Astoria was sitting alone at a table, almost concealed by darkness, in the corner. She had dark brown hair, starkly different to her older sister, but the same icy, emotionless blue eyes as Daphne. Her hair today was pulled back loosely into a bun, and she seemed to be concentrating on whatever she was reading as she sipped at her firewhiskey. Bracing himself Theo ordered two drinks and walked over to her little table. When his shadow obstructed the light from the candles on the roof she looked up with a frown.

"Can I help you?" Astoria asked, hints of amusement lacing her voice.

"I just thought I'd buy you a drink," Theo said, sliding the firewhiskey onto the table.

Astoria raised an eyebrow at him, "Do I know you?"

"Certainly not, I'd remember a face like yours," Theo said smoothly, "I've not been in town for long."

"I thought you had a slight accent," Astoria said, instantly interested in the man, "Where are you from?"

"Amsterdam, I'm here on…business," Theo said, letting that sentence be slightly ambiguous.

Astoria smiled slightly and motioned for him to sit down, "What kind of business?"

Theo sat down opposite her, "I have a big business deal to crack this week but that's unimportant. What's a beautiful young woman like yourself doing sitting in a bar alone at this time of day?"

It was only 3pm in the afternoon, but Astoria's smile slipped slightly, "Oh, business," She said a little slyly.

Theo glanced at what she had been reading, but she had covered it up, "What kind of business would that be?"

"I'm a journalist," Astoria said, "I was just doing some research."

"I see," Theo said, he was getting frustrated already. He had tried to tap into her mind via Legilimency but she was completely closed off and always on guard so he had given up on that plan. However, finding out what she had really been reading would help and the only way to do that was to sleep with her, and knock her out. Theo wanted to roll his eyes at the thought alone, but for Draco's sake he persevered with the flirting.

* * *

Neville's philosophy of Astoria being hot and thinking about that to get past the whole sleeping with her bit had worked perfectly. It turned out she hadn't gotten the chance to try and kill Theo either, which he was relieved about. But as Harry had pointed out, that wasn't her MO, she didn't sleep with guys and then instantly kill them. She tried to worm her way into their lives first, so it had actually been fairly easy. Theo had charmed her, and let her take him back to her flat. After he had bedded her he subtly placed a soothing charm on her and slipped her a sleeping draught after that. He then went about changing her memory so she wouldn't remember anything, and then he grabbed his clothes and dressed quickly.

He now had about 10 minutes while she was in a really deep sleep to look through her belongings for anything that could incriminate her. She only had a small two-bed flat in Chelsea, so that wasn't looking to be too tough a job. At first he didn't find much, but then he hit the jackpot when he searched her handbag. He found the parchment she had been looking at when he first saw her and a small leather bound book. He copied them both so she wouldn't suspect anything was missing and did a quick sweep of the rest of the house. When he found nothing more of significance he apparated away, and not a minute too soon because his 10 minute snoop period was just about to expire.

* * *

"Burton?"

Dana looked up in amusement when Eddie strolled into the team office (Harry had his own private office through a separate door because he was the Assistant Head Auror) but she, Harrison and Ron all shared this small office. However Ron and Harrison were out on a job, and Harry was holed up in his office working.

"What can I do for you Eddie?" She asked professionally.

Eddie grinned, "Well I need you to get me a file as a matter of fact."

"Astoria Greengrass's file by any chance?" Dana asked as she held up a file.

Eddie laughed as he took it from her, "Harry already told you, didn't he?"

"He mentioned the case," Dana admitted, "So is it true then? That you're going to set her up so Malfoy doesn't have to marry her?"

"No, that's not true," Eddie said, "She's already a criminal. We're just going to find a way to arrest her so Draco doesn't have to marry her. If he did, she'd kill him for his money."

"You really want to protect him," Dana said observantly.

Eddie shrugged, "Theo's my best friend, and as much as they argue he and Draco are like brothers. So yeah, I don't want anything to happen to him."

Dana chuckled, and Eddie frowned, "What?"

"Nothing," Dana said almost fondly, "It's just that your loyalty is quite a Hufflepuff trait. And before you insult Hufflepuff, I was one."

Eddie smirked, "I'd never insult Hufflepuffs. I think they're cute."

"Cute?" Dana scoffed, "Clearly you haven't seen me when I'm angry."

* * *

Harry was anticipating spending lunch on his own as he pulled out a sandwich and a doughnut from his bag. Dana and Harrison were working in the lab, and Ron was off on his lunch with Charlie. The downstairs team were busy with the case so here he was, alone in his office.

And then Hermione walked in with a brown bag and sat down opposite him, "Hey Harry," She said cheerfully.

"Hey," Harry said with a slight smile, "What do you want Hermione?"

"Can I not just want to have lunch with my best friend?" Hermione asked innocently.

"You can," Harry said in amusement, "But I know you and you wouldn't tear yourself away from that huge elf welfare case unless you wanted something."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Oh come on Harry, I've barely spoken to you all month with work being busy. What is going on with Draco Malfoy?"

"That's level 7 security," Harry said with a smile, "And what level clearance do you have again?"

"5," Hermione muttered.

"But since you're my best friend," Harry said, leaning forward slightly and lowering his voice, "He's leading a secret team helping us bring in people that we can't because of rules and regulations."

"So he really has joined you?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

Harry nodded, scanning Hermione's face for a sign of how she felt about that, "If you're angry, I get it but he is doing a great job and-"

"I'm not angry," Hermione said honestly, "I'm amused that you seem to be defending him. Do you work with him?"

"I'm the one who's in charge of him," Harry admitted.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "Really? And how did you come by that?"

"I got told to do it by the AHD," Harry said as if this were obvious.

Hermione smirked, "Did you?"

"Yes, why are you smirking?" Harry asked cautiously.

"The AHD being Susan Bones, right? The Assistant Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Hermione said simply.

"Yes," Harry said slowly.

"That's really interesting," Hermione said, "Because Susan and I have been friends since Hogwarts and we had lunch together the other day. She was telling me about a new project, and how she couldn't believe how eager you had been to work with Draco Malfoy."

Harry surveyed his best friend for a moment and then sighed, "Fine, I asked to be assigned to him."

"Yes, I know this. What I don't know is why," Hermione said, still amused by the entire conversation.

"Because he intrigues me, and I feel sorry for him. After what happened to his parents I felt like I owed him something, like it was my fault," Harry said honestly, "So when Susan said I could give him a better life via this job I agreed."

"Eagerly," Hermione added.

"Yeah I think she's exaggerating on that part," Harry said a little irritably.

Hermione just smiled and said, "Well Harry, you always have had a hero complex."

* * *

Daphne took a deep breath as she stood before the gates of a grand home. Even now she thought it was too big for a family of four (three these days) to live in. The size of the house was pointless. Its vastness meant nothing with so many cold, empty rooms that were never used. The house dated back to the 16th century and was shaped like a horseshoe. It was white with pale green accents on the window ledges and the front door. By all intents and purposes it was beautiful. Its gardens stretched far ahead and covered the ground between the gate and the front door. There were circular mazes and ponds, and something that still made Daphne roll her eyes, peacocks.

She knew the second that she placed her hand on the gates to be allowed access that her Father would open them. He had disowned her and the last time they had spoken had been a few months ago now. But he would be tempted to believe she was turning a new leaf, that she wanted to do things his way and return to his way of life. His curiosity over why she was there would win out over his stubbornness at her not choosing the life he wanted for her.

Daphne couldn't contain her smirk as the gates swung open. So maybe she wasn't the favourite daughter but she certainly knew her Father better than Astoria did. In fact, all that Daphne really missed about her family was her Father. The lack of money didn't really bother her, and she had never gotten on with her sister or her Mother. But she had always been close to her Father and his rejection of her had stung, no matter how hard her walls were to penetrate.

She felt that familiar feeling of dread in her stomach as she walked the long distance from the gate to the door. It was a cold, windy day today and the gardens (which usually seemed quite serene and peaceful) were far less inviting than Daphne remembered. After what seemed like a very long walk she finally reached the pale green door and raised her hand to knock. The door opened as her knuckles hit it for the first knock and standing before her was one of the family's three house elves.

"Mistress Greengrass."

"Oh you don't have to call me that Twinkle. I've been disowned, as I'm sure you know," Daphne said as she walked into the house, "Where is my Father?"

"In his study, miss," Twinkle said quietly.

"Fantastic," Daphne said, stalking up the stairs, her heels clicking with each step that she took. Now she was here she couldn't afford to hesitate so the moment she reached her Fathers office she opened the door and walked in.

He was expecting her, and he merely said from his desk, "I still hear you before I see you Daphne," he cast a slightly distasteful look at her particularly high heels but did not look at her face.

"Yes, another thing you seem to hate about me Father," Daphne said coolly.

"Why are you here Daphne?" Her Father, Cygnus asked, "To beg me to give you money? Because I can assure you that will not happen."

"No Father, as hard as you may find it to believe I don't care about your money. I do have other means of making it after all," Daphne said as she began to pace the room.

"By selling your body to men?" Cygnus asked irritably.

"I'm not a prostitute Father, the men I sleep with don't pay me," Daphne said honestly, "And besides, I have a real job now. I signed a contract and everything."

Cygnus actually looked up at her, "You did?"

"I didn't particularly have a choice, but yes," Daphne said, not giving too much away about her new job, "So if you were hoping I was here to join the family business I'm afraid you will be disappointed."

Cygnus rolled his eyes, "I'm disappointed in you and your sister, she's going down the same slippery route that you did."

"Oh I know all about that," Daphne said, "Yet I was disowned and she's still the angel that you all love?"

"Your Mother seems to think that this is merely a phase," Cygnus said carefully, but that made Daphne pause and think. She knew him well and she knew he didn't think Astoria's 'phase' was just a phase. She didn't know quite what to make of that, but she had suspected for a while that she had been disowned at her Mothers will, not her Fathers.

"Well it is actually Astoria that brings me here," Daphne said, aware she was taking a risk here but she knew the best way to get her Father to listen to her.

"You've spoken to her?" Cygnus asked.

"No, but my new job concerns her," Daphne said carefully as she sat down, "I have joined the family business in a sense Father."

Cygnus frowned, "Daphne, you will never be qualified to become a lawyer."

"That's true," Daphne said, "But I have been recruited by the Auror department. Granted, my choice was to join them or go to Azkaban but all the same I'm working for the same justice department as you now Father."

Cygnus raised an eyebrow at her, "You expect me to believe that you are working for the justice department? As an Auror?" He asked in disbelief.

"No, I didn't expect you to believe it," Daphne said, "But I am, and I'm not an Auror. I work with a team of ex-criminals who do the jobs that regulations stop Aurors from doing. We bring in the people who can't be touched for political, or other reasons."

She watched as her Father considered this, yes he knew she was sneaky and smart but he was struggling to believe even she could make that up. He looked at her for a long moment, "If this turns out to be a lie Daphne-"

"It isn't Father," Daphne assured him.

"Then how does this involve your sister?"

"Well in case you hadn't heard, her last two boyfriends have both died suspiciously. She also tried to kill my boss once so he has a personal score to settle. But the problem now is that she's in a marriage contract, with someone close to me who has a lot of money, and I can't allow that to happen given her past," Daphne explained.

"I know the marriage contract of which you speak. Lucius Malfoy and I wrote it up many years ago. It was supposed to pertain to you, and Draco, but then the unfortunate incident of you being disowned occurred," Cygnus said.

"Unfortunate incident," Daphne muttered under her breath with a shake of her head.

"I could reinstate you, and then you would marry Draco instead of your sister," Cygnus suggested.

Daphne scoffed, "No, I can't marry Draco. He shouldn't have to marry anyone, it should be his own decision, a free one."

Cygnus shook his head irritably, "I don't know how you became this way, did I raise you wrong? For you to have all these _modern_ ideas."

"I do apologise for not wanting to be forced into a marriage with someone I don't love," Daphne said sarcastically, "Look, if you and Lucius Malfoy wrote up that contract then surely you can just cancel it."

"Marriage contracts can't be cancelled Daphne, they expire after 100 years," Cygnus said matter of factly, "There are only two ways for a marriage contract to be broken."

"Well thank you for confirming my suspicions," Daphne said as she go to her feet, "Would you rather I killed Astoria or simply imprisoned her?"

Cygnus's head snapped up, "This is your intention?"

"My intention is to make sure Draco doesn't have to marry her, and that I don't have to marry Draco," Daphne said coldly, "I think he's been through enough without being forced to marry a murderer."

"And she learned from her big sister," Cygnus said darkly, "After all, you said yourself it was the contract or Azkaban."

"I never killed for money," Daphne hissed, "But then nobody would believe my story even if I did try and tell it so you can't hurt me with words Father. Astoria is nothing like me, all she wants is the best in life and she will do whatever it takes to get that. She has to be stopped, Azkaban is the best place for her."

"She would die in Azkaban," Cygnus said a little desperately, "She could never survive it, you are the strong one Daphne, not her."

"Well I've survived more than I'd have liked to," Daphne said angrily as she yanked the door open, "It's Astoria's turn now."

She didn't look at her Father as she left the room and shut the door, walking from the house as fast as she could. She didn't stop until she had apparated away from the gates to her little flat in the Hackney area of London, it was all she could afford with the meagre earnings she made. Her pay from the new department was better, but it would take some saving for her to be able to afford a deposit on a new flat.

When she shut the door to her apartment she finally let herself collapse against it and after nearly punching a hole in the floor in anger, she cried with frustration and bitterness.

* * *

"You got anything?"

"Nothing solid, do you have lunch?"

Draco dropped a cardboard box on Neville's desk and sat down heavily, "I hope Daphne and Theo are having more luck."

It was lunch time and a day had passed since the others had been given their tasks. Only Draco and Neville were lift biting their nails and biding their time in the concrete hovel that was their office.

"Between them they'll find something. Where the hell did Eddie go?" Neville asked as he dug into the lunch Draco had brought him.

"He dropped in Astoria's file then disappeared, said Burton had a lead for him to follow," Draco said with a shrug, "He wouldn't tell me what it was. And what do you mean by nothing solid?"

"I mean nothing that will hold up in a trial," Neville said as he swallowed his mouthful of food, "There's the Harry thing, but he had been drinking that night so there's no chance of it holding up, and anything else is just speculation, without proof it just won't hold up.'

"When you say drinking…" Draco said, "How much was he drinking?"

Neville gave Draco a pointed look, "This happened less than a year after the war."

Draco sighed, "So a lot then."

"Copious amounts," Neville yawned, "So we can't use that, not unless we can find a similar offence. And of course it's suspicious that her last two boyfriends have died but-"

"We've no conclusive evidence," Draco finished irritably.

"But that's Theo and Daphne's job, to find that evidence," Neville said optimistically, "So don't give up just yet."

Draco scoffed and muttered under his breath, "I hate optimists."

Neville smirked, and was thinking up a sarcastic remark when the sound of heels on concrete stopped him. He and Draco both looked towards the door as it swung open and a sour faced Daphne stormed into it, slamming the metal door shut with so much force so that it creaked.

Draco didn't even bother to say anything, or ask her anything. He just sighed. If Daphne was in a bad mood, it meant she hadn't been able to get anything useful out of her excursion back home.

"So I guess it didn't go well?" Neville asked tentatively.

"Fuck off Longbottom," Daphne spat, throwing herself onto one of the sofas.

"That bad?" Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

"My sister is a bitch, my Mother is a complete disgrace and my Father is a bastard!" Daphne seethed, "So all in all, it wasn't successful."

"So you didn't find anything?" Draco asked quietly.

Daphne looked up and caught his eye, "I'm sorry Draco. All I found out was that the contract was written by our Fathers. It was supposed to be about you and I. As my Father put it because of the 'unfortunate incident' of my being disowned, it now pertains to you and my sister."

"How dare you just get yourself disowned?" Theo's voice said from the doorway, "I mean come on, this is _all_ your fault."

Daphne glared at him, "Shut up Theo, or I _will_ impale you."

Theo paled significantly and Draco even managed a small smile as he turned to his friend, "Please tell me you had some luck in your search."

Theo shook his head, "I'm really sorry Draco-"

"Never bullshit a desperate man Theodore Nott," Harry's voice said as he slipped past Theo in the doorway and pulled a brown folder from his hand.

Before Theo had time to pull his wand out Harry was on the other side of the room opening the folder, "This is pretty good," he said as he thumbed through it, "Good job."

"What is it?" Draco asked, walking over to Harry and trying not to look or sound too desperate.

"Well this is the society page of this week's edition of the prophet," Harry said, handing one of the two items to Draco.

Draco glanced over the page, "Okay, so what else is there?"

"This is a ledger," Harry said as he thumbed through the copy Theo had made of the book.

"A ledger?" Daphne asked in disbelief, "As in a sex ledger?"

"Yep," Harry said, "Going back a good few years actually, each page has a picture, a date, a rating and notes…I suspect she keeps it for blackmail purposes, it's genius actually. Sneaky and horribly invasive of course, but genius."

"Cute," Eddie joked as he slunk into the room from the secret lead that he had been following.

"Nice of you to join us," Draco remarked, "What are you looking for in there Potter? Is there a certain person we should be looking for?"

"Yes," Harry said slowly as he began to smirk, "But that wasn't what I was looking for."

Neville smiled a little, "Hes looking to see if hes in the ledger."

"And I am," Harry grinned, "She gave me four and a half out of five which is quite impressive considering I was hammered and I barely remember anything from that night."

Daphne rolled her eyes and grabbed the book from Harry, sniggering when she saw the image, "Just as well Theo found this. It wouldn't be very good for you if this was emblazoned on the front page of the prophet Potter. Don't you think Draco?"

She thrust the book into Draco's hands and all of a sudden he looked very uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes, "Potter, this isn't really something you should be proud of," he said as he gave him the ledger back.

Harry smiled very slightly, "I apologise for my improperness, Malfoy," He said, "But look on the bright side, these two items are the key to catching Astoria and putting her away, thus cancelling your marriage contract."

"How?" Eddie asked.

"Because," Draco said, taking the ledger from Harry and sitting down at his desk with it and the society page in front of him, "If we can find the same name in the ledger, and the pages, then chances are that we find Astoria's next victim."

"And if we find her next victim and get a tail on her, we catch her in the act of murder," Daphne said eagerly.

"Attempted murder, the idea is to stop her _before_ she kills anyone else," Harry pointed out.

Daphne smiled cheekily, "Right."

Harry smiled, "Will you be alright from here onwards then?" He asked, glancing at Draco a little anxiously.

Draco didn't notice, but he waved Harry off, "We're perfectly capable without a babysitter, Potter."

Satisfied that Draco was back to normal Harry left the basement with a smile.

"So," Daphne said as she sat down easily on Draco's desk, "Any familiar names?"

"Not as of yet but your sister has slept with a lot of people," Draco said distastefully as he thumbed through the ledger, looking for familiar names, the names of those circled in the society page.

"I'm aware of that, but I can't believe she slept with Potter…even I couldn't manage that," Daphne said irritably.

Draco looked up at her in amusement, "It's not a competition."

Daphne scoffed, "Of course it is! How am I going to sleep with someone more famous or powerful than him? It's ridiculous."

"Well I'm almost as powerful, and I'm pretty famous too," Neville said in amusement, "Am I in your ledger?"

Daphne smirked, "Let's be honest Longbottom, I go for the leader, not the sidekick."

Neville grinned, "It's a good thing you didn't sleep with Ron then since he's the sidekick, not me."

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Ugh, I have taste. Unlike _some_ people in this room, I'd never sleep with a Weasley."

Daphne had looked pointedly at Eddie, and Draco had done the same to Theo. The two friends turned to each other in surprise.

"You slept with her too?" Theo asked in disbelief.

Eddie snorted, "Guess we have more in common than we thought."

Daphne sniggered, "Well let's be honest, there aren't many people Ginny Weasley hasn't slept with."

Neville frowned, "I don't think you're one to insult her for that, Daphne."

"Oh come on Longbottom, at least I'm honest about my escapades with men. When they sleep with me they know exactly what they're getting into," Daphne said honestly, "She on the other hand acted all innocent with the whole 'I love the chosen one thing' she had going on."

Neville glared at her, "That's not fair, she did care about Harry and you don't know anything about the circumstances of that break up!"

"She loved him enough to sleep with her ex-boyfriend while supposedly 'waiting' for Potter to return to her?" Daphne asked in amusement.

"That's also not fair. Harry wasn't perfect either during the war Daphne. You are talking about things that you don't understand," Neville said.

Daphne shrugged, "I'm just saying that she's not the innocent little thing everyone thought she was at Hogwarts. And as for her love and devotion to Potter, look how that turned out. She split up with him because she thought he was sleeping with me, when he wouldn't even sleep with me out of moral bloody integrity."

Neville rolled his eyes, "Daphne, you really don't know anything about this. That wasn't why they broke up. If anything it was Harry's fault, so keep your nose out of other people's business."

Daphne looked like she wanted to say something more on that but then Draco's voice cut in and distracted them both.

"I just found our connection."

They spun around, and all of a sudden the argument was forgotten and they were back in work mode.

"Who is it?" Eddie asked curiously.

"A certain wizard by the name of Michael Corner," Draco said in amusement, "Interesting I think, considering your discussion about She-Weasel, his high school girlfriend."

Daphne rolled her eyes, and Theo asked, "What does Astoria want with him? He's a half-blood for a start."

"A rich half-blood," Eddie remarked, "I mean the guy owns a quarter of St. Mungo's, granted he got there through fairly Slytherin means for a Ravenclaw. But all the same, he has money and that's what Astoria wants, right?"

"Right," Draco said, "And while she did have others to choose from with similar sums of money who were also pure-bloods, I think I know why she picked him. I think she chose Corner because he's more aesthetically pleasing to her."

"What makes you say that?" Neville asked.

Draco turned the ledger to face them, so that they could all see the picture. With "Ahs", they realised what he meant and he then pointed to the society pages. There was a picture of Corner leaving a venue of some kind, and then there was a small piece of text underneath it.

Eddie smiled as he read it, "He's going to be at a party tonight."

"Exactly," Draco said, "And Astoria will be there with him. She's going to pounce, tonight."

"We need to be there and have our eyes on them," Daphne said.

"And we will, but only one of us can go in under glamour and interact with them. Someone who isn't closely linked to either of them," Draco said.

"Well I've slept with her while I was me," Theo said, "And Daphne's out for obvious reasons."

"As am I," Draco said, "Which means it's between Eddie and Neville."

"I don't know Astoria, but I was quite close to Michael at school," Neville said, "So I'm going to have to rule myself out."

All eyes were now on Eddie who grinned, "My first solo mission."

"It comes with a catch," Draco said, "What was this secret lead you got from Junior Auror Burton?"

"Well, now that you mention it," Eddie said, "It ties in pretty well with our plan. When Dana and I had a look over Astoria's file we noticed a certain club she went to regularly. It seemed to be where she had met a few of the men who became her victims so Dana and I went there and asked the owner if he'd seen her with anyone recently. He said he had and gave us a rough description, and it ties in pretty well with what Corner looks like."

"Good," Draco said, happier now that they were making real progress, "Then tonight you go in there under glamour and get close to them. Daphne, and I will also go in under glamour and keep watch at a distance while Theo keeps guard on things from outside."

"What will I be doing?" Neville asked curiously.

Draco smirked, "Arresting her."

* * *

Draco was making his way into the main part of the Auror department to tell Harry that they had a rough plan, and that he may well have Astoria under arrest by the end of the night. However when he emerged into the office Harry and his team all shared he found it only occupied by Junior Auror Harrison Bailey.

"Is Potter in his office?" Draco asked the man.

"Nope, he's out on the terrace," Harrison said.

Draco frowned, "We're underground."

"Yeah it's not a real terrace, but he goes out there a lot," Harrison said in amusement, "It's just out that door."

Still bemused Draco walked through the door Harrison had pointed to and found himself in what he knew was a fake outdoor area, but it felt very real. He could feel the wind on his face and the warm sun shining down on him, and the sky was so blue. The area was a small balcony with a railing around it and a couple of rickety chairs. There was a sizeable drop below and when you looked down you got the impression that the Ministry was above ground, and this was the view from level two, so above were a couple of levels and then there was a huge drop down to the deepest levels of the Ministry.

Harry was leaning on the railing with a cigarette in his hand, and without turning around to look at Draco he said, "Hermione is fantastic with fake weather environments, not that she approves of what I use this terrace for mind you."

"I didn't know that you smoked," Draco said as he walked forward to lean against the railing with the man.

Harry shrugged, "I beat a couple of bad habits that I picked up after the war, this wasn't one of them."

Draco turned his nose up, "What are you smoking anyway?"

"Cigarettes, Muggle things," Harry said offhandedly, "I know you posh purebloods all smoke cigars but I can't stand the smell."

"Well cigars are far more civilised than those things," Draco said, "From the smell I can't imagine that they taste particularly nice either."

"They don't, but they help keep the demons at bay," Harry said with a sigh, "Anyway, why are you here?"

"We have a plan," Draco said simply.

"Good," Harry said, turning to look at the man, "But don't tell me anymore than that because of rules and regulations. You know that it's better if I don't know anything."

Draco nodded, "I wasn't intending to tell you anymore than that. I just wanted to give you a fair warning because we'll probably be bringing her in tonight."

"Good," Harry said again, "You'll be out of that pesky contract and free to marry who you want."

Draco scoffed, "Not that it matters, I doubt that I'll ever marry."

"Well at least you're free to make that choice," Harry shrugged.

Draco nodded, "I'm not free yet."

"You will be," Harry said as he put his cigarette out in an ash tray, "I have faith in your ability to catch her. I know you've only really being dealing with petty crime, but if you ace this one I've got a feeling a few more tricky cases will be coming your way."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a cryptic pain in the arse?" Draco asked irritably as he walked towards the door.

Harry smirked and said, "Many people. Good luck tonight Malfoy."

Draco just gave him a nod and left, hoping that luck would serve him well later in the night.

* * *

That night, with their plan formulated, they were ready to make the big arrest. They were in an alleyway not far from the club where the party was being held and Daphne was in the process of putting Eddie under glamour to go into the club and draw out Astoria and Michael Corner.

"How do I look?" Eddie asked, looking at his shoulder length dark hair, and light grey eyes in a mirror Daphne had conjured up.

"Well I'd sleep with you and she copies everything I do, so Astoria probably would too," Daphne said with a slightly amused smile, "You'll draw her out."

"Perfect," Eddie said, his usual upbeat self.

Draco and Daphne were already under glamour, Daphne was now a curvaceous redhead, and Draco had light brown hair and dark brown eyes, looking nothing like himself to those who didn't know him well.

Neville didn't need to be under glamour since he was making the arrest, and Theo was going to be stationed outside so he didn't need to be either.

"Alright," Draco said with false confidence to those who knew him best on the team, "Are we all ready?"

There were plenty of nods because on the surface the plan was simple and easy enough, as long as nothing went wrong. They would go in, Eddie would draw Astoria out which was a distraction for Daphne and Draco who would put tracking charms on Astoria and Michael Corner. From outside Theo would monitor where they were going and inform the others of their movements via a communication charm. Neville was there to pounce and make the arrest as subtly as possible, getting Astoria out of the building and into the Ministry with as few people as possible noticing. But that plan had many holes in it and many things could go wrong. Chiefly, Astoria might not make her move tonight, but might instead move onto Eddie as a new victim. All they could do as they walked towards the club was hope for a good outcome. Once they got there Theo made his way to the roof where he could monitor things without being bothered and the others went inside, courtesy of Neville who had connections.

But that was the easy part.

The club was packed, and filled with loud, live music, and sweaty people. They branched out, Daphne and Draco going to higher balcony style areas to try and get eyes on Astoria and Michael. Neville blended into the crowd and Eddie went to the bar to order a drink so that he would fit in better. From his perch on a balcony Draco spotted Astoria easily and tapped his ear three times to talk to the others, "She's in the middle of the dance-floor with Corner. I can get a track on her from here."

Eddie had to pretend he hadn't heard this information, which came through to his ear so nobody else could hear it. He continued to act normally as Draco, while concealed on the balcony, put tracking charms on both Astoria and Michael. Draco watched as Eddie waded towards her and when he got near enough began to dance with a random girl. Astoria noticed him and slunk away from Michael, the plan was working so far.

Theo's voice came through his ear, "Tracking charms have been activated. I suspect you can see them now anyway."

"At the moment, yes," Daphne's voice said into his ear from where she was sitting in a booth on the other side of the room in a balconied area. They couldn't do much but wait after that as Eddie danced with Astoria for a while and bought her a drink. They sat down and talked, but since Eddie's communication channel hadn't been opened at his end they had no idea what he was saying. If he was following the script then he was telling her he didn't have money and that he was an artist living on his dream. This seemed to be what he had said because Astoria rolled her eyes and got up, leaving him and entering the throng of people to find Michael. When she did she grabbed him and danced with him for a while. Eventually she whispered something in his ear and led him away. By this point the team were losing interest in the hot, alcohol, sweat filled night club so it came as a relief when Theo's voice cut through the communication channel once more, "They're on the move!"

"Got them," Draco said as he walked swiftly down the stairs and followed them as far as he could. Just as Daphne and Neville caught up with him he lost them and swore under his breath.

"Lost them Theo, direct us," Draco said.

On the roof Theo had a large piece of parchment in front of him. By sitting up here he had easily mapped the inside of the building with a few simple charms, and he had also placed tracking charms on the rest of the team. He could see clearly where they all were, labelled and easy enough to make out. He tapped his ear, "There should be a door up ahead and to your right. They went in there."

Draco nodded, and with a hand symbol to the others they all disillusioned themselves which went unnoticed in the hectic, chaotic atmosphere of the club. Once they reached the door Eddie put a listening charm on it and Draco drew a window on the door with his wand which enabled them to look inside the room without those inside knowing it.

The room was a bathroom and Astoria was making out with Michael in it. Draco couldn't see Daphne, but if he could he was fairly sure that she would be rolling her eyes. He frowned as he saw Astoria reach behind her back with one hand. Neville had his wand at the ready and his hand on the door ready to burst in the second he needed to.

"She has a knife," Draco whispered.

Neville nodded, but waited to see the knife before they pounced, they had to be certain before they convicted Astoria, it would fall apart in court otherwise and she would get away with it. The moment he saw the glint of silver he burst in the door and shouted, "Incarcerous!"

Her arms and legs were bound instantly and Michael jumped in fright as they made themselves visible again. He raised his hands and said, "Woah, woah! I didn't do anything mate!"

Draco rolled his eyes, "You're the victim you idiot," He drawled as he levitated the dagger which now lay on the floor and dropped it into the evidence bag that Eddie was holding.

Michael frowned, and Daphne elaborated, "She was going to kill you, for your money."

His eyes went to the dagger and he paled significantly. Daphne resisted the urge to roll her eyes as he fainted and landed on the cold tiled floor. She stepped over him and looked at her sister, "I think you might be under arrest."

"You bitch!" Astoria hissed from the floor, "Don't think I can't recognise you just because you're under glamour! You're working for the Aurors!"

Daphne smirked, "It's got me in a better position than you. Stooping so low as to killing people in bathrooms?"

Astoria glared at her, "Men always preferred me to you Daphne! And you always hated it."

Neville snorted, and Daphne smirked appreciatively in his direction. She turned to her sister, "Well with you in prison it's only good for me. Father might well welcome me back into the family. After all, you're hardly going to produce an heir in Azkaban so I'll be the last chance at keeping the Greengrass name honourable and alive."

"There's nothing honourable about you!" Astoria shouted.

"Oh but there is. After all which daughter is going to be the favourite now? The one in Azkaban or the one working for the justice department? I'm just like Father now, Astoria, like he always wanted you to be," Daphne said wickedly as she stepped aside and let Neville do the arrest.

He cleared his throat and read her rights to her. Then with the others, he apparated back to the Ministry to finish things up.

* * *

Draco and Neville got there first, they entered the back way with Astoria, who was still bound, and they brought her into the basement where they weren't surprised to find Harry waiting for them.

"Ah, you have someone for me," Harry said as he got to his feet, "Perfect. Astoria Greengrass, you're coming with me for questioning," He said, unbinding her legs and leading her up the stone steps. The apparition point for the basement was at the back by the kitchen and a few minutes later Daphne, Theo and Eddie came in the door from it.

"Is that it then?" Daphne asked.

"That's it," Draco said with a sigh of relief as he sunk into the sofa, "Potter just took her upstairs."

"A job well done I think," Daphne said happily.

Neville frowned at her, "You were horrible to her."

"I'm a horrible person Longbottom," Daphne said, "I can charm a guy so he sleeps with me and so I get his money or something else from him. But that's all it is, a charm, not the truth."

"I don't believe that," Neville said quietly.

"It's the truth," Theo snorted.

Daphne glared at him, and said to Neville, "As much of an idiot as Nott is, he's right. It is the truth, and since we're colleagues now you're going to have to teach your moral compass to deal with it."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Neville said, glancing at his watch, "Can I leave now, Draco?"

"Don't pretend you've got somewhere to be Longbottom," Draco joked.

"Actually, I have a date tonight," Neville said.

Daphne smirked, "Don't tell me somebody actually wants to date you."

"Well, whether you'll admit it or not, I am famous," Neville said with an odd sort of smile.

"Anyone could chop off a snakes head," Draco said offhandedly.

"It _was_ a giant snake, and I seem to remember you cowering in a corner with your parents at the time," Neville said as he shrugged his jacket on, "My memory may be wrong, but I highly doubt it."

"Oh fuck off on your date Longbottom," Draco said, almost fondly.

"Who are you going on a date with anyway?" Daphne asked curiously.

Neville shot her a grin, "Jealous, Greengrass?"

Daphne scoffed, "No, just nosy."

"Well actually, now that you mention it," Neville said in amusement, "Her name is Sophie, you might know her."

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, "Sophie Roper?"

"Yep," Neville said as he pulled his scarf on and tied it.

"Really?" Theo cut in.

"Yes, why are you all so surprised?" Neville asked in amusement, "Slytherins and Gryffindors _do_ date you know. We aren't at Hogwarts anymore."

"No, it's easy enough to believe a Slytherin would sleep with you if Daphne did," Draco joked.

"Fuck you, Draco," Daphne muttered.

"Yes, you have, it was quite enjoyable until you tried to kill me," Draco said in amusement.

Daphne smirked in good nature at him, "Don't take it personally."

"Don't worry I didn't," Draco said as he glanced over at Neville, "We're surprised because she works for Gringotts."

"So?" Neville asked in amusement.

"So it's really difficult for a human to get a job in Gringotts," Eddie said, "The last one in recent times was Bill Weasley. She's really smart."

Neville snorted, "So you think she's too smart for me? Well fuck the lot of you, I'll see you at work on Monday morning."

He left, and his long robes swished behind him as he did. Daphne snorted in amusement, "That was rather sassy."

"Yeah, if he wasn't off to meet a woman I'd be wondering about him," Theo joked.

"You never know, that could be his cover and he's off to meet a man," Eddie said in amusement as he pulled his coat on, "I'm off too as a matter of fact, I've also got a date tonight."

"With who this time?" Theo asked in amusement.

"Can't say," Eddie winked, "Have a good weekend one and all!"

Without another hint he left.

"It's that junior Auror hes been semi-stalking for the past month," Daphne retorted as he left.

"He didn't make it half obvious," Theo chuckled.

"Let him have his fun, he's still heartbroken after Rosa," Draco said in amusement, "Are either of you two off on dates tonight?"

"Nope," Theo said, "Although I might go out on the prowl. Some interesting people went into that club tonight."

Daphne rolled her eyes, "I'm playing the good daughter in the hope my Father will give me my fortune back."

Draco smiled and said, "Well you're not any use here, you might as well get off and enjoy your Friday night."

Daphne frowned, "Are you sure? I'll stay and have a drink with you if you like?"

Draco shook his head, "I'm fine, don't worry about me. This last case had just as much of a knock on you as it did on me."

"Oh I'll bounce back, I always do," Daphne said brightly, "But if you're sure you're alright on your own then I'll hit the town for a little while."

"I'll join you," Theo said, a little too quickly.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Do you have to?"

"I won't stay long, once I find someone to leave with," Theo said with a wink in Draco's direction.

Draco shook his head in amusement and waved them off as they left the basement. It suddenly felt empty and cold, but he sighed and leant back against the sofa, enjoying the peace and quiet.

* * *

When Harry walked into the basement he found it empty apart from Draco which was no surprise. He was sitting on the sofa with a glass of firewhiskey in his hand staring blankly at the wall. He was clearly deep in thought.

He looked up when he heard Harry's footsteps on the stairs, "Potter, is it actually possible for you to leave me alone for 5 minutes?" He drawled.

Harry smiled and said, "I am technically your boss, and if you were a _real_ Auror you'd still be in your 3 month probation period."

"But I'm not a real Auror, and why do you have a bottle of firewhiskey in your hand?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I thought you might want to celebrate the fact that Astoria Greengrass is in a holding cell awaiting sentencing. They're saying she'll get a minimum of 5 years, and a maximum of 10," Harry said, sitting down next to Draco on the sofa and opening the firewhiskey. Draco conjured up another glass and Harry poured out two.

"Well, I can't say I'm sad to hear that," Draco admitted.

"And it also means your marriage contract is officially void," Harry said, "You're a free man Malfoy."

"I'm not free Potter," Draco said irritably, "I'm working for you, in a 10 year contract. I'd rather have married Astoria."

"Well you're not marrying me, just working for me," Harry joked, "You're as free as you're going to get for the next 10 years."

"I suppose I should take some solace in that," Draco said miserably.

"Yes, you should. Now for Merlin's sake, try drinking some of that, it was bloody expensive," Harry said as he sipped his firewhiskey.

Draco hid an amused smile as he took a sip, "Finally, someone who appreciates the good stuff. I can't have one more drink of Daphne's cheap stuff that she claims tastes the same."

Harry laughed, "Oh Neville's the same, always buying the cheap rubbish and claiming there isn't any difference. Of course there's a difference."

"I know, I mean feel how much smoother it is," Draco said.

Harry snorted, "Is that a euphemism?"

Draco shook his head in disgust, "Potter I am a little bit offended, and quite disgusted by that comment. One moment I think you're getting some taste, and the next you go all the way back down to your half-blood roots again."

"One minute I think you might actually be a decent guy and the next you're back to being a pureblood arse again, so we're even," Harry said in amusement, "And I brought you firewhiskey and a present so you should be a lot nicer to me."

Draco frowned, "A present?"

"Yep," Harry said, conjuring a box out of nowhere and handing it to Draco.

He looked at it cautiously, and Harry rolled his eyes, "You can open it, it's not a bomb."

"What's a bomb?"

"Never mind," Harry laughed.

Draco opened the box and pulled from it a set of dark brown, leather robes. His eyes widened, "Are these…"

"Real Auror robes, yep," Harry said, "Without the Ministry's 'M' for obvious reasons. You passed the test, you are officially unofficially one of us."

Draco couldn't even glare at him for being cryptic, and Harry continued, "But they are Aurors robes all the same, and your team might get the same, if they prove themselves."

"I can't believe I've actually got Aurors robes," Draco said as he held them, "My Father will be turning in his grave."

"But your Mother would be proud," Harry said with a smile.

Draco's eyes flashed, "What?" He asked sharply.

"She saved my life in the war. When Voldemort thought he had killed me he asked your Mother to check if I was alive. She asked if you were alive and I told her yes so she lied to Voldemort," Harry explained, "She told him that I was dead. She only ever wanted you to be happy and safe Draco."

"Thank you Harry," Draco said genuinely.

Harry smiled, and then backtracked, "Are we actually on first name terms?"

"What?"

"You just called me Harry."

"I think you must have had too much to drink, Potter," Draco said defensively.

"Right," Harry said in amusement, "Whatever you say, Malfoy. Have a good weekend, I expect to see you back in here in uniform on Monday morning."

"Yes boss," Draco joked, and Harry grinned as he left the basement.

 **TBC :)  
**

 **A/N: Hope you are all enjoying it thus far! :)**


	6. A Smugglers Life

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 6 - A Smugglers Life  
**

The following Wednesday began with a loud bang. Daphne stormed into the office, she was the last one in so everyone else was already at their desks. She slammed a copy of the prophet on her desk and sat down in her chair huffily.

"Can you _believe_ they are calling _**her**_ the black widow?" Daphne exclaimed, "I mean come on! All she ever did was copy _me_ and now she's getting all this recognition for it!"

"She's also going to Azkaban," Draco pointed out from his desk.

"That's not the point, she's getting all the recognition I should have gotten," Daphne said irritably.

"Yes well if you wanted recognition you would be going to Azkaban too," Neville said in amusement, "So I think you're probably better off as you are."

"And I thought it was supposed to be the younger sibling who had jealously issues," Eddie chuckled.

"Of course I'm jealous, she's stolen my bloody glory! How do I beat that?" Daphne raged.

"Work your way up, become good at this and you'll be famous in a _good_ way," Neville said with an amused shake of his head.

Daphne sighed, "It's bloody ridiculous," she said as she opened the prophet to remove the headline from her sight. The others shared amused looks and then fell silent until Daphne sniggered.

"What now?" Theo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"There's an article about Potter in the gossip section here," Daphne said in amusement, "Apparently he went on a failed date with Hannah Abbott last night. The prophet are saying he's a hermit, spending more time in his office or working than out having fun."

"Sounds like Draco," Theo remarked.

"I know, all of us go out and have fun and Draco sits here all on his own," Daphne teased.

"Except he's not on his own," Eddie stirred, "He's here with Potter."

Draco rolled his eyes, "I was down here with him one night when he brought me my robes."

"The robes you've been parading about in ever since," Theo said.

"You're just jealous," Draco remarked.

"He reminds me of bloody Joseph and his technicolour coat," Eddie muttered to Neville, who snorted his amusement.

Draco didn't understand the reference so he ignored it, and Daphne continued, "So apparently Potter has had many relationships, all short-lived and complete failures. Hard to believe for a guy as famous as him."

"Being famous gets you the girls," Neville admitted, "But it makes it hard to keep them when people only want your fame, or your money," He looked pointedly at Daphne who didn't seem to notice.

Draco shook his head, "Come on, I'm sure we all have far more interesting things to do than discuss Potter's love life. There's a list of 20 people who have skipped bail on all of your desks and we need to track them down so let's crack on."

* * *

"Daphne. What happens if your Father decides to reinstate you?" Draco asked his friend as he thought about the Prophet article and Astoria's imprisonment.

"Do you have to marry me, you mean?" Daphne asked with a knowing smile.

Draco chuckled at how well she knew him, "Yes. Surely if you are reinstated then that marriage contracts pertains to you and I."

"It would, yes," Daphne agreed, "And it would mean that if we both reached the age of 30 and had not fulfilled the conditions of the contract that-"

"We would both be automatically disowned and lose all of our assets. Our money, our estates, our titles," Draco finished.

"Exactly," Daphne said.

"So what do we do?" Draco asked, looking at her, "With this information?"

"We wait. It depends on a lot of things, my Father might not reinstate me. My Mother already hated me before I helped get my sister arrested so if she still has control over my Father then it will never happen. But if I am reinstated then we wait. Us being 30 is 5 years away, if we are both unattached then we might as well get married. You need an heir after all."

"And you're not the worst company in the world," Draco said with a small smile.

Daphne shot him an amused look, "Neither are you. I could marry my best friend quite happily. Salazar knows that hardly any purebloods are that lucky when it comes to arranged marriages. We've got to look on the bright side here."

Draco nodded and glanced down at the pile of paperwork on his desk, "We should also probably get back to work..."

* * *

When lunch time came Draco was alone once again. Eddie was on his lunch with Dana, who he was now sort of but not really dating, apparently it was very complicated. Daphne and Neville were out tracking a couple of bail skippers down and Theo had disappeared on an errand Ron had sent him on.

When the door swung open and Hermione Granger walked in Draco was therefore pretty surprised, but he smirked all the same, "Ah, Granger. What brings you into our domain?"

"None of your business Malfoy," Hermione said as she leant against the door.

"Well since you're in the office of my team, it is my business," Draco grinned.

"If you must know I'm here to meet Theo, for lunch," Hermione said.

Draco raised an eyebrow, "As in a date?"

"It's none of your business if it is," Hermione said.

"I thought you were still shagging the Weasel," Draco said crudely.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "No, we broke up over a thong in his pocket that was not mine."

Draco actually looked a little sympathetic, "Well that explains why he's been giving us all his shitty jobs and taking pleasure in being wicked recently."

Hermione sighed, "Is Theo here?"

"No, he's off doing an errand for your ex, oddly enough," Draco said.

Hermione seemed to be trying to resist the urge to hit him or hex him as she said, "Well when did he leave?"

"He'll be back if you hang on a couple of minutes," Draco said, "Although I can't think why you're going on a date with him. If you thought sleeping with me was bad for your moral compass," He shook his head, "I mean wow, Theo's on a whole other level."

"Sleeping with you was a business deal to piss off Ron and you know it. As for Theo, I find that hard to believe given how sweet and intelligent he is," Hermione said irritably.

"All a ploy," Draco said in amusement, "To get you in bed. Just you wait Granger, he'll be gone the minute you're in his ledger."

"He has a ledger?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"He has a few, I think he's on his third at the moment, the first two are full," Draco said offhandedly as Daphne's copy of the prophet and its article about Harry caught his eye, "But before you go off on your date, which will be lovely I'm sure, I do need to ask you a question."

"I don't have to answer it," Hermione said, now thoroughly pissed off.

Draco shrugged, "Why is it that all of Potters relationships have failed?"

Hermione smirked when she saw the paper, "That really isn't any of your business, Malfoy."

"But it's intriguing Granger, he's famous therefore his relationships shouldn't fail," Draco pointed out.

"In theory," Hermione admitted.

"So why have they?" Draco asked.

Before Hermione could say anything, and if she was even planning on answering Draco didn't know, but before she could Theo came into the basement. He grinned when he saw her, "Oh hey Hermione, I'll just grab my cloak."

Hermione smiled at him as he did so then she shot a knowing look at Draco. They were about to leave when she turned around and said, "And Malfoy, I think you know the answer to your own question."

* * *

If Draco had wanted to dwell on the Potter article, or on Hermione's bloody cryptic words, he couldn't have. But he didn't want to anyway. That afternoon, after everyone had returned from lunch, Daphne and Neville kindly with doughnuts and coffee, their next case came in. Courtesy of the failed romantic himself.

"Afternoon all," Harry said as he swept into the basement. He walked past Draco and rested on the edge of his desk and Draco could smell the cigarettes on him.

"Is that a case?" Draco asked, eying the brown file in Harry's hands.

Harry smirked, "Calm down Draco, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were bored with dealing with petty crime."

Draco shot the Gryffindor a glare and Harry chuckled, "Yes, I have a case for you all. It's a complicated one so I hope you're all listening," He added for the benefit of the rest of the team scattered around at their desks.

"The person we're looking for is Cadmus Selwyn," Harry said, "That is a name I assume you all recognise. He was a Death Eater in the Second War, but before then and since then he has been famously neutral, rather like the Greengrass family."

Daphne nodded, "Neutral apart from when he was running around after Voldemort, something my Father didn't do."

Draco sighed, "Neutral compared to the likes of my Father is what you mean, Potter."

Harry looked a little guilty, but he nodded, "Exactly. Now Selwyn is both rich and influential, and he also happens to have political immunity which means unless we have solid evidence we can't touch the guy. We have been able to track his movements slightly through our informants and from what we've seen we suspect him of trafficking squibs. We've seen an increase in the amount of squibs that have gone missing from Muggle orphanages and we've also noticed large amounts of money disappearing from pureblood bank accounts to overseas accounts."

"You reckon he's taking squibs off purebloods for a profit and selling them as slaves then?" Theo asked.

Neville frowned but said nothing and Harry nodded, "It looks that way. Obviously another issue is that it's legal in Europe to use squibs as slaves like we use house elves. But it's illegal here, legally it's a grey issue because the squibs are being taken illegally from here but once they get to Europe and are sold its legal."

Draco nodded, "So you want us to catch Selwyn and make sure we have hard evidence when we do?"

"That's exactly what I want you to do but I also think that he has henchmen and I want you to catch them too. There's no way hes doing this on his own," Harry said.

"No, he must have someone informing on pureblood families who have given birth to squibs here for a start," Eddie said.

"And someone scouting out the Muggle orphanages for signs of magical or squib children too," Theo added.

"Then there's the seller who sells them on as slaves in Europe," Daphne said.

Neville shook his head, "I can't believe how calmly you're all talking about this! How would you feel if you had a sibling who was sold to be a slave?!"

"I did Longbottom," Daphne said coolly, "When I was 8 he was sold and taken away to Europe as a baby. You become desensitised to things when you see them happen in everyday life."

"Look, this is a horrible situation," Harry said, to avoid an argument, "And I agree that it shouldn't happen. Squibs are human, Muggles are human, we're all the same. But that isn't how these people think. To them squibs and house elves are no different, both useless with only one purpose, serving others. We can't do much for the squibs that have been targeted and I can't change that, however much I want to. All we can do is arrest the people responsible and work to make sure this stops happening."

"Fine," Neville said hotly.

Harry shot his fellow Gryffindor a warning glance, "Neville-"

"I said fine Harry," Neville said shortly, "It's fine alright, now do you mind buggering off so we can get on with the case?"

Harry shook his head irritably and looked to Draco, "Good luck, you know where to find me if you need anything Draco."

Draco nodded, and Harry turned on his heel and left.

"What was that about?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I thought you and the big boss were best buddies," Theo added.

Neville glared at them both, "Shut up. Look Malfoy just give me something to do here, alright?"

"Alright," Draco said, glancing at Daphne in confusion. She seemed just as perplexed at Neville's change in attitude.

"We know that Selwyn is taking squibs from orphanages so we'll need someone to go and talk to the staff of the orphanages where abductions have been reported," Draco said matter of factly, "And we also know that he's taking squib children away from wizarding families and they are paying him for his service. Now that job will require glamour and an in-depth knowledge of the pure-blood aristocratic society to be pulled off. So Longbottom, you and Eddie are on the case of Muggle orphanages.'

Neville nodded stiffly and Eddie got to his feet, "Have you got a list of the orphanages that reported abductions?"

Draco flicked through the file that Harry had given him and handed a bundle of parchment to Eddie.

He whistled, "Bloody hell, there's about 60 orphanages in here."

"Well we better get started then," Neville said, shrugging on his coat, "I'll meet you in the hallway Eddie."

Eddie nodded and grabbed his own coat, waiting until Neville's shoes stopped clicking up the concrete stairs to ask, "Anyone know what the hell is going on with him?"

"No idea," Theo shrugged, "Just don't piss him off. He's an ex-Auror."

"Yeah Theo, I'm not you. I don't go out of my way to piss people off," Eddie joked with a smirk as he left the basement after Neville.

Draco pushed himself to his feet, "So that leaves the three of us. At least one of us needs to go under glamour into that world somehow. And the other two are off to Europe to find out where these squibs are being sold, and more to the point what they're doing with them while they wait to sell them."

Daphne frowned, "Potter said the squibs welfare wasn't our concern, he said finding Selwyn and his partners was."

"By finding where they keep the squibs we'll at least find the person taking them there and probably another guarding them," Draco pointed out, "And what Potter doesn't know won't hurt him. We aren't Aurors and we don't have to follow his rules or do what he says. I generally only do it out of politeness, that doesn't come into play when there are innocent lives at stake."

"Draco, this is not you. You don't care about innocents, you go in and you get the job done. What is going on?" Daphne asked in disbelief.

Draco sighed and looked up at her, his grey eyes were particularly dark and stormy today, "Look, I spent the entire war on the side-lines, I wasn't even sure what side I was on. I never helped anyone, I just stood by and watched a lot of people get hurt. I won't do that again Daphne."

"Okay," Daphne said with a small smile, "I'll go under glamour here, you know I'm the best at undercover work and because of what happened to my little brother Daniel, I know a fair bit about squib trafficking."

Draco nodded, he was aware of Theo although he had been silent throughout his exchange with Daphne, "Good, I was hoping you would say that. Right then Theo, that means we're going to Europe."

"Can we have croissants for dinner?" Theo joked.

* * *

"So what exactly is the plan?"

"I don't have one," Draco admitted as he and Theo walked into a large palace in Hungary.

"So we're just going to walk in and hope for the best?" Theo asked in amusement.

"That is exactly what we're going to do," Draco said, glancing around at the people dressed in fancy robes and ballgowns. He and Theo fitted right in with their elaborate dress robes.

"We aren't on the guest list," Theo pointed out.

Draco smirked, "I can get us on the guest list easily."

Theo scoffed as they approached the security wizard, "10 galleons says you can't."

His smirk widened as Draco said, "Deal," and shook Theo's hand.

"Can I have your names please sirs?" The security wizard asked politely.

"Draco Malfoy, and Theodore Nott," Draco said with a smile.

The wizard scanned his list and shook his head, "Sorry, you're not on my list."

"Well we wouldn't be, after all our presence here is not meant to be known. I'm sure you must have heard of Harry Potter, apart from defeating Lord Voldemort, he is also a fantastic British Auror and we are here on his orders today," Draco said calmly, "We're surveying the premises before the British Minister for Magic's arrival, it's standard practice but we don't like many people to know about it, for security reasons."

The security wizard had faltered the moment he heard the name 'Harry Potter' and he nodded, looking highly embarrassed, "Of course, of course. I'm very sorry, please go ahead. Our best wishes to the Minister for Magic."

Draco smiled, "Thank you very much," he said and he and Theo walked right into the palace ballroom.

"How did you know that the Minister wasn't here already?" Theo asked in disbelief.

"I didn't, we got lucky," Draco said in amusement, "But if Potter is good for nothing else, at least we know his name can get us into elite events."

Theo sniggered and glanced around the room. It was grand, and majestic, and yet lacking something that many functions in Britain had. There were no house elves, just lines and lines of children holding drinks trays and wearing simple black dresses or black dress robes.

"This is insane," Theo muttered as one girl walked over to them and curtseyed as she held out the drinks tray.

"No thank you," Draco said, trying to contain his disgust as he did a quick head count. There had to be about 30 squib slaves here for a party of around 100 people. This was a state event, and it was common practice. The squibs couldn't speak on account of silencing charms, so they could only guess at how many of them had been taken from Britain.

"So what now?" Theo asked.

"Now we listen," Draco said quietly, "For any mention of anything about these squibs. I don't suppose you can figure out if any of them are British?"

Theo frowned, "Well…no, I'd need a DNA or blood sample. I can't exactly do that discreetly."

"You cannot do anything discreetly!" A foreign, female voice hissed behind them.

Draco didn't jump, but Theo did. They both turned around and saw the woman who had spoken to them. She had long dark hair, and was wearing a long, form-fitting navy blue dress.

"I don't appreciate eavesdropping," Draco said coolly.

The woman glared at them, "Come with me, right now," She hissed, glancing around and walking swiftly through the crowd.

Draco and Theo really had no choice but to follow her out of the ballroom and into a side passage, when they were alone she threw up silencing charms and glared at them, "What are you British doing here ruining our operation?" She asked in broken English.

"What operation?" Theo asked.

"The squibs," The woman said irritably, "We are trying to find who is bringing them here. They are not all Hungarian. What are you doing here?"

Draco couldn't hide the look of amusement on his face, "Trying to find the person taking squibs from Britain to Hungary. I'm Draco Malfoy, and this is Theodore Nott, we work with the British justice department."

The woman narrowed her eyes at them and scanned them with her wand, "Alright, you seem to be who you say you are. My name is Natalia Kavalinsky, I work with the missing people department of the Hungarian Ministry."

"Well then I think maybe we ought to work together," Draco said, "We both want to find the missing squibs and take them home."

"And arrest those responsible," Natalia added.

Theo nodded, "We could really help each other out on this case," He said, and Draco nearly rolled his eyes at how much he was trying to make a pass on the Hungarian woman.

If she noticed she didn't say anything. She shrugged, "I suppose we could share information. What do you know?"

"Not much yet," Theo replied, "Just that someone by the name of Selwyn and his accomplices are taking squibs from Britain and selling them here."

"If he is taking them from Britain he must have helpers taking them from other countries," Natalia said.

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Wait, you're saying this is a smuggling ring?"

"Of course," Natalia said as if this were obvious, she scoffed, "You British always think you are at the centre of everything."

Theo hid his amusement at her comment as he said, "We just hadn't realised how widespread the problem was. What do you know on your end?"

"I know that a man who calls himself Markas takes squibs from Hungary and sells them. I suspect he has apprentices in every country, Hungary is a good market at the moment for squib slaves," Natalia said.

"At the moment?"

"Our first Muggle-born Minister for Magic has been elected. We are bringing in legislation to make this illegal, the man in charge knows this. He must be deep within our Ministry to know."

"How do you know that he knows?" Draco asked.

"He has stopped taking them, and stopped selling them. We think he is moving them over our borders to Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia."

Draco nodded, "I have to report this back to my team in Britain but-"

"I'll stay here," Theo offered, very quickly, "And help Natalia. That way you and I can contact each other if we need to share information."

Draco hid his smirk as he nodded, "Good idea Theo," He said, the amusement in his voice clear, "I'll tell the others that this is a smuggling ring, not an isolated problem in Britain. Harry will want to know too, and then I suspect our next step will be to work together to find out where Selwyn and his helpers are taking these squibs so we can arrest them and bring the squibs home. While you're here you might as well cross the borders and look for evidence of places tampered with magic to hide something."

Theo nodded, "Of course, I'll report everything back to you," He said seriously. Regardless of his other interests, Draco knew he was staying here because he wanted to help. This case touched him as much as it touched any pure-blood. It was something they grew up around, but not necessarily something they were okay with.

* * *

"So, do you want the good news or the bad news?" Draco asked as he walked out onto Harry's terrace.

He could feel Harry rolling his eyes even though he couldn't see his face. Draco leant forward against the railing and glanced sideways at the Gryffindor.

Harry turned to look at him, "Go on then, give me the bad news."

"It's not an isolated incident," Draco said, "It's a smuggling ring."

"A smuggling ring? You've got to be fucking kidding me," Harry said in disbelief.

"I wish I was," Draco said, looking out at the fake blue sky.

"Merlin, my day was bad enough without this. You should see the shit the Prophet write about me."

"I did," Draco said in amusement, "Who would have thought the great Harry Potter couldn't hold down a girlfriend."

Harry smirked at the sarcasm and said, "None of them can handle what they tend to call my suicidal qualities. Apparently duelling your best friend for fun once a week is abnormal, and running around nearly getting killed while trying to take down bad guys is unhealthy."

"I would have agreed with them a few months ago," Draco admitted, "But the adrenaline buzz makes it worth it."

Harry grinned, slightly manically, "Exactly."

"But that is slightly creepy," Draco said with a chuckle.

Harry laughed and blew out a ring of smoke, "So, you said there was good news?"

"We found someone from the Hungarian Ministry, she works with the missing people department and she's working the same case from a different angle. The Hungarian Ministry is reforming now that it has a Muggle-born Minister for Magic and one of the first pieces of legislation due to be passed is to make squib slaving illegal in Hungary. Apparently the person behind all of this, whether that's Selwyn or some guy she called Markas, is deep within the Hungarian Ministry because this information is supposed to be Top Secret but he knows and he has been moving the squibs across the Hungarian borders to sell them in other European countries."

"So you're working with her?" Harry asked, "Because if she's looking at the Hungarian angle she could be a great asset."

"We're working with her," Draco said, "I left Theo in Hungary with her."

Harry snorted, "Hot then, is she?"

Draco smirked, "Tall, dark hair, and a very sexy accent."

"I bet he practically begged for the job," Harry said in amusement.

"Pretty much," Draco agreed with a chuckle, "So how do we proceed now we know it's a ring?"

Harry sighed and put out his cigarette, "Well _we_ are still looking at Selwyn. It's likely some grand master is controlling this whole thing and Selwyn is just one link in the chain. But he's the one taking squibs from our country, he's the one we need to arrest."

"And the rest?" Draco asked.

"Not our division," Harry said, "It's an international situation, which means the IWC's justice department will have to deal with it."

"You and I both know that the International Wizard Committee are useless," Draco scoffed, "All they ever do is give out sanctions."

Harry sighed, "I know, but all we can do is arrest Selwyn, and any other people helping him take the squibs from Britain. Just like all your Hungarian woman can do is arrest the people responsible for kidnapping Hungarian squibs."

"So we just let everyone else get away with it?" Draco asked in disbelief.

Harry frowned, "I thought you of all people would be okay with that."

"I'm not okay with letting people who are corrupting children get off scot free so they can keep doing it," Draco said irritably, "And I can't believe that you are either. If you really are then you aren't the Harry Potter I went to school with."

"I can't just run off and do whatever I want anymore, Malfoy!" Harry snapped, "My job is on the line now, I'm not a stupid kid with a death wish! There are rules at play here. There are regulations and I have to follow them. Do you know how many rules I broke trying to get them to create your team?"

Draco frowned, "You created the team?"

"Of course I did," Harry said irritably, "Who do you think suggested the idea to the AHD? I'm sick of people getting away with things because of our rules. I hate the fact that I can't arrest someone when I _know_ they did it. The whole point of your team is to arrest people like that, but I cannot help you do this or I _will_ lose my job."

"Then we'll do it without your help," Draco said.

"You realise you could face Azkaban if you try and arrest the person responsible for this because it's out of our jurisdiction?" Harry asked.

Draco nodded and paused with his hand on the door handle, "I'd rather go to Azkaban for arresting the person responsible for abducting and mistreating squib children than for war crimes," He said simply.

Harry smiled at him, "I had hoped that my gut feeling was right about you when I decided I wanted you in charge of that team. And it was."

"Was that a compliment, Potter?" Draco asked, almost warily.

Harry just laughed, "You're doing a good job Draco, just keep doing it. I think I'd actually miss you a little if you got sent to Azkaban. I vouched for you once, but I won't be able to do it again."

"Is this your way of saying be careful?" Draco asked in amusement.

Harry nodded wordlessly and Draco smiled, "I will be, and I'll find these guys."

"Good luck," Harry said, and Draco understood that that was the end of the conversation. He nodded and pulled the door open, leaving Harry alone on the terrace.

* * *

When Draco trudged down to the basement it was fairly late. He knew they would have to call it a night soon but he had hoped for a team briefing first. When he got there he was glad to see that everyone else apart from Theo was there, sitting around at their desks.

They all looked up when he walked in and they fell silent, Draco commanded the room, "Right, we're having a team briefing and once we've worked out our action plan for tomorrow you can all go home. Longbottom, Eddie, what did you find?"

"There's a pattern," Neville said, "They never take more than one every few months from an orphanage and they stage it so it looks like a runaway but it's still reported as a missing person of course."

"Nobody ever remembers the child leaving, they just go into their room in the morning and they are not there," Eddie added, "We contemplated memory charms, but it's more likely they come in cloaked and leave quietly with the child."

"All in all it was a pretty useless exercise, there aren't any patterns when it comes to ages or gender, boys and girls of all ages went missing," Neville added.

"But around 30 children have disappeared since this started 6 months ago," Eddie said, "And we have names for most of them, and pictures of a lot of them."

"Not that it will do much good since retrieving the squibs isn't our priority," Neville said bitterly.

"It is," Draco said, "Regardless of what Potter says. If we can find those squibs and get them back here, we will."

Neville nodded, "Good," he said stiffly.

Draco sighed, "But the bad news on my end is that this is a smuggling ring. Selwyn is just the British link, squibs are being taken from all over the place. There's probably a different person for every country, and the whole operation was being run out of Hungary, someone high up in the Hungarian Ministry is running it. But with new legislation making squib slaving illegal in Hungary they are moving operations over the borders. Theo is over there now with a Hungarian Ministry official trying to find more information."

"That ties in with what I found out today," Daphne cut in, "Purebloods get pregnant, and give birth and then have the child tested. Apparently there is a spell that detects if the child is a squib so they don't have to wait and have the embarrassment when the child does not develop any magical ability. If the child is a squib they contact Selwyn through a mysterious middle-man who seems to be called Gregg from what I've head but that's probably a false identity. The middle-man takes the money and the child, and it ends up in Europe. Selwyn runs things, but it doesn't look like he gets his hands dirty."

"That's not surprising," Neville said, "That's why it's so hard to find evidence on him, or arrest him."

"Well for the moment it's more than we had before," Draco said, "I still think our best chance of finding Selwyn is finding the places where the squibs are kept before they are sold to pureblood families in Europe. Even if we just have to wait it out until we see him, and that way we can also help the squibs. Potter has nothing to do with this, if he was found to be helping us he would lose his job so this is on us alone. We have no help from through the wall on this one."

"We don't need it," Neville said, "When do we leave for Europe?"

"I'll call you all in via floo when I've heard from Theo," Draco replied.

Neville nodded, "Alright, goodnight then," He said as he left the basement.

Daphne frowned and said, "I'm going to go make sure he's okay, I'll see you two tomorrow morning," She said as she hurried out after Neville.

Eddie sighed, "I think he must have had some sort of personal experience you know. He barely said a word to me when we were scouting those orphanages today."

"Most purebloods have been touched by this," Draco said, "It's a sensitive subject for us all Eddie."

Eddie looked sheepish, "Sorry."

Draco shook his head, "Don't be, just go home and get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

Eddie nodded and flung his coat on, "Goodnight Draco," He said, leaving the Slytherin alone in the cold basement,

* * *

"Hey Longbottom!"

Neville turned around midway down the corridor at Daphne's voice behind him.

"Where are you heading?"

"I was planning on going home," Neville said honestly, "Why?"

Daphne shrugged, "I was going to hit the pub, I could do with a drink…after today."

Neville fixed her with a long look, but she didn't look uncomfortable or break his gaze. She just smirked, "This trick might scare normal people off but it won't work with me."

Neville actually chuckled, "Alright then, if there's a free drink in it," He said.

Daphne smiled and said, "Come on then," as she walked past him towards the apparition point.

* * *

For once Draco didn't seek Harry out on his little terrace. He stayed where he was, alone in the basement lying on the sofa flicking through files and thinking about the case. When somebody walked into the basement he thought it was maybe Daphne, or Theo coming to report.

But when he saw Harry he was surprised, to say the least.

"Aren't you having nothing to do with this?" Draco asked, and he surprised himself by how bitter he sounded.

"Officially yes," Harry said sheepishly as he shuffled from foot to foot, "But I need to know...how is the case going?"

"Well I've got no idea where Theo is, and Longbottom is an emotional wreck," Draco said irritably, "So my team isn't the most reliable right now."

"Cut Neville some slack, you've read his file," Harry said, sitting down on the second sofa, opposite the one Draco was lying on.

"I've read all of my team members files," Draco said, "And so have you. 4 out of 5 of us have been touched by this case, Potter."

Harry sighed, "I know, but it's different with Neville. It wasn't so…"

"Pureblood?"

Harry glanced up and caught Draco's eye, "Daphne's parents paid someone to take her brother away. Theo had a younger sister who was dumped at an orphanage and-"

"And my older brother mysteriously died in an accident when he was a few months old," Draco said coolly, "And we all know a 2 month old child can't fall down the stairs when they can't even walk yet. I knew before I even found my Fathers journal that he had done it."

"I'm not trying to say that you didn't suffer Draco," Harry said honestly, "What happened to your brother is disgusting, it really is. All I'm trying to say is that with Neville it was different, his family didn't have anything to do with it."

"What you are in fact trying to say, subtly I'll give you that, is that his brother was more of a victim than the rest," Draco said darkly.

"Well he was bloody kidnapped," Harry said irritably, "I mean, the Death Eaters kidnapped a 3 year old child because he was a squib and to this day Neville still has no idea what happened to him! He doesn't know if he lived and is in some country in Europe right now, or if the Death Eaters killed him which I hate to admit is the most likely option."

"So that's worse than Theo knowing his sister is living with a muggle family right now? That's worse than the fact he only gets to see her once a year because her family are scared of him?" Draco asked angrily, "That's worse than Daphne knowing her brother died in servitude in Barcelona? It's worse than growing up playing Quidditch with your Father on the very ground where he buried your brother after killing him!"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but then thought better and shut it.

Draco scoffed, "Speechless? That's not like you Potter, you normally can't keep your mouth shut," He said somewhat nastily.

"I don't understand you at all Malfoy," Harry said angrily, "Sometimes you can be this really nice, thoughtful guy and then other times you really are a complete arsehole."

"We all have bad days, and in case you hadn't noticed this case kind of pisses me off," Draco said darkly, shutting his eyes and hoping Harry would leave.

"It pisses me off too," Harry said and Draco heard him push himself to his feet, "And it pisses me off all the more that I'm not supposed to have anything to do with it. Just tell me that you have progress!"

Draco opened his eyes and caught Harry's green eyes, they had darkened, "We'll have at least one arrest by tomorrow," He promised.

Harry nodded, "Unofficially, if you can help the squibs, do it."

"I was planning to, regardless of whether I had your permission or not," Draco admitted with the hint of a smirk.

"Well you never did follow the rules," Harry said, "Neither of us did. I'm surprised we weren't friends sooner."

"Are you saying we're friends, Potter?" Draco asked, watching Harry carefully.

"We're friends Draco," Harry said simply as he walked out of the basement.

* * *

Draco was awoken at a ridiculous hour by the sound of the floo roaring to life next to his favourite place to sleep, the sofa in the basement. He was alert immediately because he knew the only person who would floo the office at this time in the morning was Theo.

"Oi Draco, get your lazy arse up," Theo's voice said from the fireplace.

Draco rolled his eyes as he knelt in front of it, "What bloody time do you call this?"

"Well it's 7am here in Budapest," Theo said, "So I'm assuming its earlier back home."

"It's 6am," Draco yawned, "So you better be flooing this early because you have news."

"I am," Theo said, "Although I'm not sure if it's good or bad. Natalia and I were up all night looking for possible locations where they could be hiding the squibs and we narrowed it down to two. Her team is taking one which is in Romania, and I told her we'd look into the other which is in Ukraine."

"Good," Draco said, "That's good news, we're going to find them."

Something in Theo's face faltered and Draco frowned, "There's more, isn't there?"

Theo nodded and glanced around, "Can I come through?"

Draco knew then that whatever Theo wanted to say was serious if he didn't feel he could say it over the floo network. He nodded and stepped back, allowing Theo to walk through the fire and materialise in front of him.

"What's going on Theo?" Draco asked.

"Do you remember Franklin?" Theo asked carefully.

Draco's frown deepened, "Of course I do, how can I forget your little brother?"

Theo gave his friend a pointed look, and Draco faltered, "You can't be serious."

"I wish I wasn't," Theo said darkly, "But I got suspicious, that's why I asked to stay with Natalia in Hungary. He ran off after the war. I told him he wouldn't get prosecuted, he was in 5th year when he joined them, and only in 6th year when the war ended but he didn't believe me. The last I heard from him was last year, he sent me a postcard from Budapest."

"That doesn't mean he's caught up in this," Draco said, "It could just be a coincidence."

Theo shook his head, "The thought did cross my mind, but I had to know so I used Natalia's resources at the Hungarian ministry and found him living in Budapest. I went to see him and I told him what I was doing there…he admitted it Draco, that he was involved in it."

"He's just a kid Theo," Draco said quietly, "He was just a kid when he joined the Death Eaters."

"A kid with pureblood ideas, I'm not surprised he got involved. But Draco, he was roped into it by Selwyn. He's seen him, worked with him, has ties with him," Theo said, "He agreed to help us."

Draco was a little sheepish, "Theo," He said in a warning tone, "This can't be you just trying to save your little brother. If he's involved, we _have_ to arrest him."

"Not if he helps us," Theo pushed.

"He was a Slytherin, he could have been manipulating you, or luring us into a trap," Draco pointed out, "Did he tell you about the location in Ukraine?"

Theo was beginning to angry, "Yes, but Natalia checked it, and it all checks out. He wouldn't lie to me Draco, he's _going_ to help us."

Draco sighed and turned away from Theo, "You want me to risk all of our lives on the word of your little brother who joined the Death Eaters at 15 and has been part of a squib smuggling ring ever since?"

He couldn't see Theo's face, but when he spoke he could hear the desperation in his voice, "He's not 15 anymore, he's 23 and he has a lot of regrets. Selwyn roped him into the job with blackmail he has on him from the war, he says he wants out and I believe him."

"He's your brother Theo, of course you believe him," Draco said as he turned around, "But that doesn't mean your belief is well placed."

"Even if it is a trap, and I really don't think it is, it's still our best chance to catch Selwyn," Theo said.

Draco sighed deeply because as much as he knew the risks, he also knew that Theo was entirely right. He nodded, "I'll call the team in, you better get back to Hungary."

Theo nodded, "I promise Draco, your faith isn't placed in the wrong person," he said as he stepped into the fire and disappeared.

"That remains to be seen," Draco mumbled to himself as he performed a few glamour charms and transfigured his robes. He yawned as he floo-ed Eddie and instructed the Ravenclaw to get to the basement as soon as possible.

Then he tried to contact Daphne, but he couldn't get an answer at either of her addresses and she wasn't answering her communications device either. Harry had given each member of the team a bracelet that enabled people to talk by pressing a button on the catch. The only issue was that the other person had to press the button on their bracelet to accept the call or the bracelets were useless.

After 10 minutes Draco gave up and floo-ed Neville, he never got an answer on his floo either so irritably attempted to contact him with his communications bracelet. After a few seconds Neville's voice rang through into the empty basement.

" _Why the bloody hell are you calling me so early?"_

"Because there has just been a huge development in the case and we need to be in Ukraine as soon as possible," Draco replied.

" _Right, I'll be in as soon as I can be,"_ Neville said.

"Good," Draco said shortly, "And can you try and get a hold of Daphne please? I've tried her floo and her communication bracelet and she isn't answering. If she's not here soon we'll be going to Ukraine without her."

" _Sure, I'll try and let her know."_

"Thanks Longbottom," Draco said, pressing the button on his bracelet to end the conversation.

* * *

In his flat Neville pressed the button on his bracelet too, ending the conversation with Draco. He looked down at the rather irritated woman lying underneath him and smirked.

"We're going to Ukraine. Draco wants us in the office as soon as possible."

"Yeah, I heard," Daphne said, rolling out from underneath him and grabbing her clothes from the floor, "We'll have to go in separately. and...don't make this awkward at work."

Neville raised his hands, "I promise I won't mention it."

"You better not," Daphne said, "And no more flirting either. This was nothing more than two colleagues letting off steam."

"Whatever you say," Neville said in amusement as he flung on his clothes, "But don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you don't kill _every_ guy you sleep with."

Daphne smirked as she pulled on her boots, "You'd ruin my reputation," She said smoothly as she slipped past him, threw some floo powder into the fire and disappeared.

* * *

When everybody was eventually gathered in the basement Draco gave them a quick brief. They all understood the seriousness of the situation and were just about to depart when the door slammed open and Hermione Granger stormed in, her bushy hair bouncing behind her.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Granger, it's far too early in the morning for me to have the patience to deal with you. What do you want?"

"Harry might think he can keep things from me but he's a terrible liar," Hermione said hotly, "I know what you're doing and I know you're leaving those squibs to die!"

"Granger-"

"No Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed loudly, "This is against human rights! I don't care what the wizarding statutes say, by Muggle law it's illegal and if these people aren't considered to be wizarding then they're Muggles and Muggle law applies to them!"

"Granger!" Draco snapped, "We are about to leave on a mission to arrest those responsible _and_ recover as many squibs as we can."

Colour flushed and rose in Hermione's cheeks, "You are?"

Draco couldn't help but smirk very slightly at how entirely embarrassed she looked, "We are."

"But Harry said-"

"Technically we don't exist and Salazar knows we aren't Aurors. When have I ever followed Potter's orders in the past?" Draco said, cutting her off before she could finish.

"I suppose but...I'm coming with you," Hermione said, finding her dignity again.

"Uh, no you aren't," Draco said shortly.

"Yes I am," Hermione said, crossing her arms, "I want to help those squibs and they might need psychological help-"

"How does working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures qualify you to give them psychological help?" Theo's amused voice asked from the fireplace.

"Don't belittle me right now Theo! You didn't even call me back," Hermione said irritably.

"I did warn you," Draco muttered under his breath.

Hermione turned her glare on the blonde man, "Shut up Malfoy, you know I have blackmail on you."

Daphne snorted in amusement, "You and me both, Granger."

Neville chuckled at the glare Draco sent Hermione's way and then he turned to his friend, "Look Hermione, if we do this it's not so bad, we're already under the radar. But you have a promising career, don't mess that up."

"No Neville," Hermione said firmly, "I have to do the right thing."

"You're Potter's sidekick Granger," Draco said irritably, "Not mine, and you are not coming on this mission. I'm already risking the lives of my four team members, I will not risk your life too."

"Do you not think I've risked my life enough to know when I can and can't risk my own life? I don't need other people to make that decision for me," Hermione said in frustration.

"Yes you do, because you are just like Potter," Draco said, just as irritably, "You can't see past the right thing and the heroic thing. People like you need someone like me to tell you when to stop. This is dangerous, you have no idea _how_ dangerous and I won't have you risking your life when you don't need to. We'll bring those squibs back, I promise, and you can be _here_ in _this basement_ to help them when we do, but I will not take you to Hungary."

"Wow," Hermione said after a moment of silence, "Harry really has rubbed off on you."

Draco frowned slightly, "What do you mean?"

Hermione smiled, "He's turned you into a good Auror."

Draco rolled his eyes, "We are leaving for a very important mission Granger, and you had better sit your arse down on that sofa and keep it there until we get back."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Theo's chuckling face in the fireplace, "Is he always this demanding?"

"Pretty much," Theo replied.

"And you should probably do what he says," Eddie said in amusement, "He's got a bad temper."

Hermione scoffed, "I think my temper is worse, I was the one who punched him in the face," She said as she sat down on the sofa.

Neville smirked, "I still wish I'd seen that."

Once more Draco sighed, "Right that's enough! Get your head in the game please! I want you all at the apparition point now," He said, opening the door and motioning for them all to leave. They left one by one, and just before he followed his team out Draco turned to Hermione, "I mean it Granger, if anything happened to you Potter would never forgive me."

Hermione nodded, "I'll stay here," She promised, "Good luck."

Draco gave her a stiff nod and left the basement after his team.

* * *

The team arrived in Hungary and were briefed by Theo and Natalia, then they were dispatched to the two separate compounds. Draco had decided it was best to keep the news about Theo's younger brother to himself, he didn't want to worry the team if this really was an ambush they were walking into. All the same it meant that as they approached the Ukrainian compound Draco knew it was the correct one, and Theo did too. This meant of course that they were on high alert, and the others could tell that there was something different about this mission.

"When we go in there try to stun and only resort to lethal spells if you feel you have no choice," Draco whispered, "There are kids in there, and we don't want them to get caught in the crossfire. We don't know what to expect, there could only be a couple of guards or there could be a whole lot of them so just keep your wits about you."

This was met with a series of nods as they performed the camouflaging spells required and started to tear a hole in the protective spells around the area. The moment they broke through they entered the grounds of the compound and crept up to the door in the early morning sunlight. There were no guards outside, they obviously felt secure enough with their security charms to think they didn't need any. Draco gave the motion that meant go ahead, so they barged in through the front doors into the unknown.

There wasn't any resistance in the first room, it was just an empty entrance hall. Draco frowned and secured it, they were alone in this room, his charms confirmed it.

"Theo get on the roof and get me a plan of this place," Draco said under his breath, "Eddie, I want a life signs charm. Tell me how many people are in this building."

Theo nodded and darted out the doors, jumping up the walls onto the roof like a monkey. Eddie made his way to a quiet corner of the room to be able to perform the complex charms required to find out how many people were in this large compound.

Draco sighed, and glanced over at Neville and Daphne, "Secure both doors," He ordered.

They nodded and separated, securing the two doors leading into the rest of the compound. Silence fell over them all. They all listened for any sound, but none came and they could only conclude that the compound was more heavily protected than they had first assumed. They grew so wary of the silence that they all jumped when Eddie sighed.

"Have you got it?" Draco asked anxiously.

Eddie nodded grimly.

"And? How many people are there?"

"I can't get an exact number, but I can tell you it's about 100," Eddie said darkly.

Draco let out a deep sigh as Theo silently dropped down into the doorway with a map in his hands, from a first glance Draco could tell that this compound was huge.

"Can you two work together and get me eyes on where these people are in this compound?" Draco asked, aware that time was of the essence here.

Theo nodded, "I can transfer the life signs onto the map."

"Then do it, as fast as you can," Draco said, his hand was gripping his wand tightly, he had a bad feeling about this mission.

They got their heads together, and 10 minutes later Theo handed the map to Draco. It was fully functional with the life signs on it displayed as flashing black dots. Draco scanned it, "There are three rooms, each packed with about 30 people," He said.

"So the remaining 20?" Daphne asked.

"The ones who we need to arrest," Neville said.

"Okay, the plan of action," Draco said, "We can only assume that this centre room here with about 20 life signs is where the majority of the criminals are. So we storm it, and detain as many people as we can, then we go for the squibs."

Neville nodded, "Do you want me to take point on this one?"

Draco shook his head, "No, I will. Bring up the rear, Longbottom."

Neville obliged, and with the map in his hand Draco led the way through the maze of corridors. When they reached the room and broke through the security charms they had seconds to enter before they lost the element of surprise. As soon as the doors opened all hell broke less. It was 20 against 5 after all. In the chaos stunners bounced off of the walls and hit several people. Within the space of a few minutes half of the criminals fell, and amongst the chaos only Theo noticed his brother, Frank, turning against his own people and knocking three of them unconscious.

A cry of pain distracted Neville from the duel he was in with one of the better fighters. He saw Daphne fall to the ground, clutching her leg which was bleeding heavily. She caught his eye, but he turned away from her because he couldn't help her. If he did then he would only prove that the regulations were right, romantic feelings and attachments made you break protocol and do stupid things. He would go to her, but only after he had helped to secure the room. Putting his head back in the game, as only a trained Auror could, Neville stunned the criminal and scanned the room. Draco was in a duel with the final criminal left standing, and Theo was talking in whispers to another of them.

"Theo! What the hell?" Neville barked.

"Frank's his brother," Daphne hissed, the pain her leg making her look as white as a sheet.

"He helped," Theo said desperately, "He stunned about 5 of them."

Neville glanced to Draco who turned away from the duel for only a second to nod. Neville just sighed and stunned the final criminal, taking the pressure off of Draco.

"Everybody else, secure this lot," Draco said a little breathlessly, "Longbottom, see to Daphne."

Neville was already kneeling down next to her when Draco spoke. She shot him a slight glare, but he ignored it and performed a numbing charm on her leg and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"You could have come and helped me sooner," Daphne said irritably.

"I was being professional like you said and not letting my feelings get involved with the mission," Neville pointed out calmly.

"Well next time don't do it when I'm half-conscious on the ground," Daphne half-joked.

Neville smiled at her and said, "Don't think I wasn't worried about you, I just needed to secure the room first."

Daphne only rolled her eyes and muttered about 'those heroic types.'

Draco was too busy looking around the room to notice their exchange. All the criminals had been bound magically and their wands rounded up and placed atop a high cabinet so that they were completely out of reach.

"Daphne, you're injured anyway so I need you to stay here and make sure none of this lot start to wake up," Draco said, "If you see any movement stun straight away. The rest of you are with me, let's find these three rooms where the squibs are being held and make sure they're okay."

"What about me, Draco?" Frank asked with trepidation.

Draco glanced at the younger man, "What about you Frank?"

"Can I help?" Frank asked.

"He helped us, like I told you he would," Theo said, trying to defend and look after his younger brother.

"That doesn't mean I trust him," Draco said, "But if you keep an eye on him Theo, then he can go with you to relieve one of the three rooms."

Theo nodded and glanced hopefully at Frank, Draco ignored this look, "Longbottom, I want you to secure another of the rooms, and Eddie and I will secure the last."

The others nodded, and they split up. Draco and Eddie were silent as they approached the room with its steel door.

"Don't," Eddie said loudly when Draco reached out for the handle.

Draco jumped, "Bloody hell Eddie, what is it?"

"It's booby trapped," Eddie said carefully as he performed a diagnostic charm which showed the extent of traps on the door.

Draco's eyes widened at the extent of invisible beams, ready to set off deadly spells if someone touched them.

"I could feel the magic, but don't worry I can break through them. Warn the other two before they get to the doors," Eddie said quickly.

Draco nodded, tapping his ear three times to activate the communication channel, "Whatever you are doing, wherever you are stop. There are traps on the doors, if you touch them they'll set off a nasty chain of events. Perform a diagnostic charm on any door before you open it."

"Will do," Neville's voice said, "Theo, have you reached the detaining room yet?"

There was no answer, and Eddie glanced anxiously at Draco as he tapped his ear, "Theo, are you there?"

"Theo?" Draco asked, panic setting in.

"Theo?" Neville echoed, "Can you hear us?"

There was a crackling and then, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just a bit groggy, I walked into one of the beams before Frank had the chance to warn me."

"Are you okay?" Eddie asked, ignoring Draco's knowing look. He didn't trust Frank, he never had.

"Yeah, it was just a stunner, we're good. We're about to go in," Theo said.

"Copy that," Neville's voice said, "I've just broken through the traps."

"So have I," Eddie said, glancing at the ominous door.

Draco nodded, "Stay on the communication channel, I want to know the situation in all of the rooms. You're clear to enter, both of you."

There was silence on the channel, and the silence from Daphne wasn't exactly comforting either considering the fact she had lost a lot of blood earlier. Draco stepped forward and unbolted the door, pushing it open. It creaked loudly, and the moment they stepped into the room a stench invaded their nostrils. It was the smell of urine, and other bodily fluids, the smell of a room cramped with far too many people. Draco felt sick as he looked around, there were about 30 children in this room. They were all small and far too thin, aged between 2 and 5, and they all looked terrified as they stared at him with wide eyes.

Draco tried his best at a comforting smile after muttering to Eddie to clean the place up with some cleaning charms.

"I'm here to help you," Draco said slowly, "To take you back home, to Britain."

The children who understood looked hopeful, and Draco muttered again, "We're going to have to call in help. 5 of us, one of us injured can't take all of these children home on our own."

"You don't need to call in for help," A voice said over the communication channel.

"Potter, what are you doing here?" Draco asked in disbelief.

Harry's voice answered, "Hermione told me what you had done, and where you had gone. I knew you'd need help getting them back, so I brought back up. It's only five more people but I thought it might be of some use."

Draco and Eddie shared an exasperated look as Draco was forced to thank Harry.

It was then he realised the other communications had gone silent, "Longbottom, Theo, what's your situation?" Draco asked.

There was the sound of retching on one end, although they didn't know whose it was at first.

"There are babies in here Draco," Neville's voice said, it was hoarse and croaky making it clear who had been retching, "This room is just lined with makeshift cots, full of babies…" he trailed off, unable to finish.

"Hang in there Nev," Harry's voice said over the channel, "Ron will be there with Burton in a minute. Draco, do you need anyone dispatched to you?"

"That depends on how bad things are with Theo," Draco said, "Theo, can we have an update please?"

"Kind of in the middle of a duel here," Theo hissed, the crackling was clearly the magic interrupting the communication charm.

"Who are you duelling?" Eddie asked quickly.

"Frank," Draco muttered under his breath.

"No, Selwyn," Theo shouted, "He wasn't one of the ones in that main room, he's here."

"I'm on my way," Harry shouted, "Just hang in there Theo."

"Working on it," Theo said.

Draco glanced at Eddie as the communication charm spluttered out due to the magical interference.

"I've got this," Eddie said, "You should go help Theo."

Draco nodded, rushing off immediately. He knew Theo and Frank had gone to the second room, just a few corridors away from where he had left Eddie so he got there first, before Harry and his team had time to arrive. When he did get there he saw the duel, and he saw how much Theo was struggling. He knew Harry would call him stupid and foolish, but he pushed Theo out of the way and threw himself into the duel instead.

The man opposite of him, Selwyn, just laughed as Theo dropped to his knees next to his brother who was unconscious on the floor.

"Lucius Malfoy's son, working for the justice department," Selwyn laughed, he had shoulder length greying black hair, and dark grey, almost black eyes. He had a wicked look about him that Draco knew well, because it reminded him of a look he had often seen on the face of his Father.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Well, being the son of Lucius Malfoy makes me a pretty good dueller, Selwyn," He said as he threw a hand-made curse at Selwyn.

Unfortunately Selwyn ducked and the curse missed him. Draco could hold his own in a duel against Selwyn once he had time to dart around him and learn his style but there were children in this room, huddled back against the walls, and any spell that was misplaced could easily rebound on them.

"THEO, GET SHIELD CHARMS ON THESE CHILDREN!" Draco shouted above the noise of the duel.

Theo tore himself away from Frank and nodded, beginning to throw up shield charms to protect the kids. The ones in this room were older, aged from 5 to about 7 it looked like.

"Need a hand there Draco?" Harry asked as he skidded into the room and threw a shield charm over himself.

"I am quite competent in a duel Potter," Draco said irritably.

"Oh I know, but normally you have time to learn the style," Harry whispered as they ducked and dodged Selwyn's spells, "And this time we just have to get him unconscious as fast as possible. You distract him with your inventive homemade spells and I'll stun him."

Draco nodded and they threw themselves into the duel, Draco's home-made spells worked the trick. Selwyn avoided most of them, but he did end up with the top of his ear off, his hair falling out in clumps and blood coming from his ears, eyes and mouth by the time Harry stunned him.

They were both breathing heavily and sweating profusely, it hadn't been a long duel, but it had been intense and very draining on their magic. They caught each other's eye and Harry said, "Good work Draco."

Draco could only nod in response, he glanced around the room for Theo who was kneeling by Frank again.

"Is he alive?"

Theo nodded, "Just knocked out," He replied, although it was clear he had been worried from his bloodshot eyes. Frank did have a particularly nasty cut to the head which was bleeding badly.

Harry pulled an old handkerchief out of his pocket and charmed it into a portkey, he placed it on Frank's chest and said, "Let go of his arm, we need you here. That will transport him to St. Mungo's."

Theo let go, and Frank disappeared.

"Daphne's injured too," Draco said, "She's in the main room where we detained the criminals."

"Alright, now the priority of this mission was to arrest these criminals so we have to take them back to Britain _before_ the squibs," Harry said, "I will leave Burton, Bailey, Hermione, Theo and Eddie here to get them fixed up and ready for transportation. But Draco, I'm going to need you and Neville to help Ron and I get the criminals into holding cells back at the British ministry."

"They aren't all British," Theo said shakily.

"Well the ones who aren't will be sent to their own ministry. The point is we need to act fast before they wake up," Harry said firmly.

Draco nodded and they left for the main room, leaving Theo to secure the children here after telling him Hermione would be joining him soon to help. When they reached the main room Daphne was still conscious, but she was very pale as she leant against one of the walls.

"The big one tried to escape, but I stunned him," She said shakily, "Nice to see you saving the day again Potter."

"Save your energy, Daphne," Harry said gently. He grabbed a quill from the desk and murmured in Latin, as he had with Frank, "This will take you to St. Mungo's. Explain the situation with Theo's brother when the Aurors show up. Tell them he helped us and that Harry Potter has granted him a full pardon."

Daphne nodded as the quill was placed on her chest and she disappeared from view.

Harry pushed himself to his feet and glanced at Draco who was frowning at the bodies on the floor, "19."

"20 including him," Draco said, with a nod to Selwyn who was unconscious, bound and floating behind them.'

"20 people in this room…20 countries suspected to be involved in the smuggling ring," Harry said with a frown. He tapped his ear, "Guys. This is an international situation. We need the IWC."

"We have them," A new voice said.

Draco tapped his ear, "Natalia?"

"Is that you Malfoy?"

"It's me. Did you find anything in Romania?" Draco asked.

"No," Natalia replied, "It was a ruse."

"I think this is the only base then," Draco said over the channel, "There are 20 men in this room, and your Ministry suspect 20 countries to be involved."

"How many children?"

"Around 150," Harry said.

"Who is this?"

"Harry Potter, I'm leading this mission now," Harry said, "I am Draco Malfoy's superior. Do you have a representative on the IWC?"

"Yes, where are you?"

"In the main room, in the centre of the building. We have all of the criminals stunned and unconscious."

"We will be with you shortly," Natalia said, her communication channel fizzling out.

"What happens now?" Draco asked Harry quietly.

"Now the IWC take this lot into interrogation and dispatch them to their own Ministries to be dealt with. But we're taking Selwyn straight back with us," Harry muttered, "Take him away now Draco. I'm not missing this chance to arrest him."

"Alright," Draco agreed, "But I'll be back to help the squibs."

Harry shook his head, "No, I'll deal with that matter myself. Somebody has to interrogate Selwyn."

Draco frowned, "But I'm not a real Auror, I don't have the authority to do that."

Harry reached into his pocket and handed Draco a badge, his own Auror badge, "On my authority, you have the authority to do it. I need you back in Britain, Draco. Trust us to finish this."

Draco watched him for a moment and then nodded, "Okay," he said simply. He then held onto Selwyn's body and apparated away from the room, moments before Natalia walked in with a short, stuffy looking wizard.

"Potter, I'm well aware of who you are," The wizard said briskly before he could introduce himself, "I am Hubert Maxwell, of the International Wizarding Committee. I have to take all of these men into IWC custody, including your man."

"I'm afraid you can't do that," Harry said, "He's already been transported back to Britain."

Maxwell narrowed his eyes at Harry, "You did this purposefully."

"No, I was just eager to get him back for prosecution," Harry said honestly, "But by all means take the rest and send them back to their own countries."

"We will," Maxwell said.

"And the children?" Natalia asked.

"Not all British, or Hungarian," Neville answered as he walked into the room, "With the children who can speak it will be easy enough to identify our own. But what do we do about the babies?"

"DNA charms," Harry said with a sigh, "Which means it is going to be a long night. Can you grab Theo and start that now? I'll send Ron back to Britain to deal with this, and I'll get the others to round up the British children."

"This is an IWC matter, Potter. We will be taking the children into our custody and-"

"No," Harry said firmly, "We will be taking our own children back, today. Go on Neville, see that it's done."

Neville nodded, and smiled proudly at Harry before he left the room.

Maxwell's face was reddening, "Now see here Potter, you are breaking rules and regulations, you are putting your job on the line-"

"Apologies if I sound rude, Mr. Maxwell," Harry said, "But my colleagues and I, along with our Hungarian friends, just busted an international squib smuggling ring that is illegal in at least half of the countries where this has been happening. I highly doubt that I will be losing my job anytime soon."

Maxwell puffed his chest up, but before he could speak Natalia did, "I agree. And I will be taking the Hungarian children back with me."

She tapped her ear and spoke in Hungarian before leaving the room.

"Good luck with this lot, Mr. Maxwell," Harry said politely as he left the room.

* * *

"I'm not going to tell you anything Draco."

Draco cocked his head. He and Selwyn had been sitting silently in an interrogation room for at least 20 minutes now. Suffice to say, Ron hadn't been happy when he got back from Ukraine to find out he was dealing with the press and the IWC, and Draco was interrogating Selwyn.

"I think you will on threat of Azkaban," Draco said simply.

Selwyn scoffed, "No. Although I do find it ironic that you are sitting on _that_ side of the interrogation table."

"Yes well, people change Selwyn," Draco said smoothly.

Selwyn hummed, "You weren't such an arrogant little shit when your Father was torturing you in front of us all. Were you?"

Draco paled slightly, but pretended the comment had not phased him, "Humiliation and torture, yes, a daily occurrence in our household. If you are trying to upset or anger me Selwyn, I assure you, it will not work."

"Ah, everybody has that one little thing that makes them tick," Selwyn said with a wicked grin, "Are you certain it doesn't still hurt? It certainly seemed to at the time…I remember you screaming, and begging-" he laughed, "- yes, begging him to stop."

"Not that my torture at the hands of my Father concerns you," Draco said coolly, "You are the one who tortures small, innocent children. Do you only sell them as house slaves? Or do you torture them too?"

Selwyn's ugly smile remained on his face, "I sell no one."

"So you just happened to be in that smuggling base by accident?" Draco asked, leaning back in his chair.

"I was asked to meet there, by a friend. I had no idea what I was walking into," Selwyn lied.

"Hmm," Draco hummed thoughtfully, "I wonder if that's what the 19 other smugglers will say to the IWC when they question them."

There was a flicker of worry on Selwyn's face, but he did not confess, or change his opinion. He remained silent.

"Believe it or not I am trying to help you," Draco said, "But if you won't help yourself there's nothing I can do. The evidence is enough to convict you, and without a statement you'll only get longer in Azkaban."

Draco got to his feet and shrugged, "But I'll let Potter know that you're happy to go to Azkaban," he walked to the door, and grabbed the handle, "He'll be delighted to have finally found a new cellmate for Greyback. We also seem to lose them around the full moon. I suppose you know that he likes to play with his food before he eats it though, isn't it interesting how genders don't seem to matter to a werewolf?"

Selwyn's face paled, and Draco left the room. The second the door had snapped shut the shouting began.

"No! No! MALFOY COME BACK! I'LL CONFESS, I'LL CONFESS TO EVERYTHING!"

Draco covered up his grin and walked back into the room, "What was that?"

Selwyn had lost all colour from his face, "I think we were being a little hasty back there."

"Does this mean you'll confess?" Draco asked, trying not to look too smug as he slid the parchment across the table to the man.

Selwyn nodded, "I'll write it all down. But I swear, I wasn't the one behind this. I was just working for a guy called Markas, I think he's Hungarian, he's got some funny accent, like German or something. He paid me well for it, that's all."

"You still kidnapped children," Draco said coolly, "And you _will_ go to Azkaban."

"How long for?"

"10 years, if you're lucky," Draco replied honestly.

"And if I'm not lucky?" Selwyn asked weakly.

"Life," Draco drawled, nudging the confession parchment towards him, "Write it all down, now."

Selwyn nodded, and began to scribble away. Draco had to admit as he sat there and waited, he felt a sense of achievement for the first time in his life. For the first time he was good at something and Potter had known that which was why he had hired him. For the first time ever someone had faith in him.

"There, it's done."

Draco took the parchment from Selwyn and escorted him to a holding cell. On his way back to the basement he dropped into the main team's office where Ron was conversing in whispers with an IWC official.

"Ah, is this the interrogator?" The man asked.

Ron nodded, "Anything?"

Draco dropped the parchment on Ron's desk, "His confession."

"He confessed to everything?"

"Yes," Draco replied simply, "And he mentioned the instigator of the entire ring. Someone called Markas with a funny accent, Hungarian or German."

"That is very useful information Mr. Malfoy, thank you," The IWC man said.

Ron nodded reluctantly, "Harry's not back yet. He said he'd debrief you in the basement when he gets back."

"Thank you," Draco said stiffly, and he left the office before he could get embroiled in the political shit that normal Aurors had to deal with. When he reached the basement it was empty so he sat down heavily on the sofa and pulled Harry's badge out of his pocket.

He smiled slightly as he stared at. It was a simple crest shaped badge. In the centre were two wands overlapping. At the top was the symbol of the new Ministry, a phoenix with its wings spread wide, the wings curved down around the word "AUROR". Underneath the wands was the name, "HARRY POTTER", etched onto the metal. Underneath his name was "I", which Draco didn't understand. He ran his fingers over it absentmindedly and then hastily shoved it back into his pocket when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

Seconds later his team walked in, or at least, half of his team did.

"How did it go?" Draco asked cautiously Neville and Eddie cautiously.

"Almost all the British children have been returned," Neville said as he dropped down next to Draco on the sofa, "Hermione is back there with Theo, they are doing DNA testing on all the babies with some Ministry officials from other countries. All of the older children have been returned. They are at St. Mungo's getting checked over."

"And Potter?"

"He's upstairs with Selwyn," Eddie yawned, "He's reviewing your interrogation."

"Did you get a confession?" Neville asked.

Draco nodded, "A full confession, yeah," He said, ignoring the look of surprise that flickered over Neville's face at this news, "I left it with Weasley upstairs."

"Well, Harry's got be happy enough with that," Neville said.

Draco nodded again, "You two should go home. This case is practically closed now and you both look exhausted."

"You sure? You look knackered yourself," Eddie said with a frown.

"I'm fine, honestly. You two should get home, I've got to wait for Potter. There's no need in this being a late night for everyone."

"Alright," Neville said, pushing himself to his feet, "But I'm going to visit Daphne at St. Mungo's first."

Eddie yawned, "Night Draco."

"Night," Draco said, waving them both out of the door.

Once they were gone he leant back into the sofa, and drifted off into a light sleep. He was rather rudely awakened at some later point, by somebody kicking his sofa. He knew instantly that there was only one person it could be.

"Sometimes a nice gentle shake of the shoulder would be nice, Potter," Draco mumbled as he opened his eyes.

Harry smiled and pushed Draco's feet off of the sofa, so that he could sit down next to the blonde, "Well, I have just finished off upstairs."

"And?"

"And, bloody hell, I wish you were an Auror," Harry said honestly, "You'd be a great partner. I loved what you did with Selwyn, I was trying so hard not to laugh when I watched it back."

Despite himself Draco grinned, "So it was alright?"

"It was great. It's all tied up, we have a verbal and oral confession, and we have enough evidence to take it to trial. He'll be in Azkaban by next week, unfortunately _not_ in Greyback's cell," Harry said in amusement.

Draco chuckled, "And the squibs?"

"Natalia and her team took the Hungarian ones to hospital, and we brought back the British ones. Hermione and Theo only just got back from Ukraine, they were knackered so Theo offered to take Hermione home-"

Draco scoffed, "I'm sure he did," he said, as he glanced at the clock and realised that it had just gone 2am.

Harry frowned, "Hermione and _Theo_?"

"Yep," Draco said in amusement, "I know, I thought she had more taste than that too. I thought she liked her men to be good guys, not bad boys."

"Yeah well she slept with me," Harry said, without really realising he had said it.

"When did _that_ happen?"

Harry suddenly looked flustered, "Oh, Godric, I have no filter right now. I've been awake for 3 days straight. It happened in the war, there this was this point when Ron fucked off and we were alone so…yeah."

Draco sighed, "Right, I understand Longbottom's comment about that now. He was fighting with Daphne about the fact your ex shagged her ex while you were on the run. He said something along the lines of shut up because you don't know what Harry did during the war."

"Yes…well he, and now you, is one of few people who know about that so..."

"My lips are sealed," Draco said sleepily.

"Anyway, I'm going home to bed. Can I have my badge back?"

"Oh, right, sure," Draco said as he reached into his robes and handed Harry his badge back.

Harry smiled as he took it, and got to his feet, "You did a great job today Draco. I felt like I was working with a real Auror."

"Thanks Harry," Draco replied as the shorter man left him alone in the basement once more.

* * *

"Hey! How's the invalid doing?"

Daphne smiled weakly from her hospital bed, in her private room at St. Mungo's, "I'm alright. I could get used to this job, it's pretty cool having a private room. How did the case go?"

Neville sat down by her bed, "All wrapped up. Draco got Selwyn's confession. He'll go down for this. We got most of the British squibs home, but Hermione and Theo are back there DNA testing the babies."

Daphne sighed, "It was a horrible case."

"I know," Neville said quietly, "It touched all of us."

"I'm sorry, about your brother," Daphne said.

Neville shrugged, "It's fine. I'm sure if he's still alive I'll find him someday."

"At least you have that chance," Daphne said, she cleared her throat, "I found Daniel I suppose, but all that was there to see when I got to Barcelona was an unmarked grave."

"If the Death Eaters killed Noah, then I'll never find so much as a grave," Neville said darkly.

"Do you think they didn't?"

Neville shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know. If he's alive, I'll find him, like I said. That's all I know."

Daphne frowned slightly, "Neville-"

"Anyway, I brought you doughnuts," Neville said with a false smile as he dropped the box onto her bedside table.

"I can't eat them," Daphne said with a chuckle, "I'm dosed up on pain potions."

"Ah, sorry," Neville said.

Daphne shook her head, "Look, Neville, about this morning-"

"I know," Neville said, "It doesn't mean anything. I know, trust me. Today, when you were hurt it brought all that back home. We can't be involved when we work so closely together."

Daphne nodded, "It's too dangerous, not just for us but for the rest of the team."

Neville bowed his head in a nod, "When do you reckon they'll let you out of here?" He asked as he got to his feet.

"Well it's just a flesh wound, with a little bit of muscle damage," Daphne replied, "So they're keeping me in overnight for observation. But I'll be back at work on Monday."

Neville smiled at her from the door, "Good, well, I'll see you then Daphne. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Neville," Daphne said, but he had already left by the time the words had left her mouth.

* * *

On the Monday morning after the huge smuggling case had been closed, the entire team found themselves back together in the basement. Draco had finally gotten his assets back at the weekend, so he was no longer sleeping on the sofa. When he walked in, the rest of the team were already sitting around on the sofas and they all had an air of general annoyance about them.

"What's got you lot so worked up this morning?" Draco asked, grabbing the coffee that Neville had left on his desk.

"The prophet," Daphne said irritably, "And yes, I'm fine by the way, since Neville was the only one who bothered to visit me in St. Mungo's!"

"It was just a flesh wound, we knew you'd be alright," Theo said offhandedly, "And honestly Draco, haven't you seen the paper this morning?'"

"I slept in," Draco frowned, "What's the big deal?"

"This," Eddie said irritably as he thrust the paper into Draco's hands.

"Are you actually serious?" Draco asked in disbelief when he saw the headline.

" _ **HEROIC AUROR HARRY POTTER BUSTS INTERNATIONAL SQUIB SMUGGLING RING!"**_

"We aren't mentioned in the article, before you look," Neville said matter of factly, "Probably because _we aren't meant to exist_."

"That doesn't mean Potter should get all of our credit!" Daphne fumed.

"We worked our arses off on that case!" Theo agreed, "Hermione and me were up all night with those babies!"

"And then you went back to her flat," Draco said in amusement.

"And didn't come home till Sunday morning," Eddie grinned.

"Ooh, a two-nighter?" Daphne teased, "She must be a good one."

"That's practically commitment for you," Neville agreed.

Theo scoffed, "She's good company, alright? That's all there is to it."

"Of course it is," Draco said in amusement, "And look, forget about the Prophet. We don't need the world to know that it was our work, we know that it was. That's enough, isn't it?"

"No," Eddie and Theo echoed.

Daphne nodded, "I've got to agree, not being recognised for doing something sucks, especially when it was actually a good thing. If my Father knew about this he'd reinstate me!"

"Well tell him then, and see if he believes you," Draco said shortly, "But don't sit around and whine about it. Selwyn is going to go to Azkaban for a very long time because of this. Who cares what the Prophet say about who caused that?"

"I couldn't agree with you more," Harry said as he walked into the room with a grin.

"Wipe that smug grin off of your face Potter," Daphne remarked, "You only got the recognition because we aren't supposed to exist."

"Yes, that is true," Harry said, "But the people who matter know that this was all you. The Assistant Head of the DMLE knows that, and it's on behalf of her that I bring you all presents."

They all looked confused as Harry waved his wand and boxes appeared on all of their desks. Every desk apart from Draco's. The blonde smiled as his team opened the boxes, because he knew what was in them.

"Auror robes?" Daphne asked in surprise.

"You aren't Aurors, not even trainee Aurors, but you're as good as so you have a right to wear them," Harry said simply, "You don't just get given Auror robes, you have to earn them and you all did more than enough to do that."

Eddie grinned, "This is amazing, thanks Potter!"

"Yeah," Daphne smiled, "Thank you Potter."

Theo gave Harry a reluctant nod, "Thanks."

Neville's grin was the widest, "I can't _wait_ to get these back on."

"I thought you might feel like that," Harry laughed, "Can I talk to you and Draco outside, Neville?"

Neville nodded, putting the robes to one side and getting to his feet. Draco walked over silently and the trio left the basement and stood in the concrete hallway separating it from the main department.

"Right Neville, you first," Harry said, reaching into his robes, "I think you deserve to get this back."

He pulled out a badge, and Draco noticed that it looked exactly the same as Harry's apart from the name and the number.

"Obviously you _were_ a Class I Auror," Harry said, "But because of your suspension and everything else you have to start back at Class III. But you're an Auror again mate."

Neville grinned as he proudly slipped the badge into his pocket. He grabbed Harry and pulled him into a bear hug, "Thanks mate, thanks so much."

"Don't sweat it, you deserve it," Harry chuckled, "Would you mind giving me a minute alone with Malfoy?"

"Sure," Neville said, still beaming as he walked away into the basement.

Harry smiled at Draco, "Right then Malfoy. This is for you."

From his pocket he pulled a badge which he held out for Draco. The blonde stared at it in shock, and didn't reach out to take it. Harry reached out and put the badge in the palm of Draco's hand. But Draco still only stared at it silently. It looked exactly like Harry's, only with the name "DRACO MALFOY" emblazoned on the metal, and like Neville's it had a number "III".

"You do want it, don't you?" Harry asked curiously.

"I'm an Auror?" Draco asked, his voice breaking.

"Yeah," Harry said, "Normally you have to do training and tests, but I have a lot of influence. In fact, I used to date the AHD of the DMLE and we had a mutual break-up which means I can call in a lot of favours-"

"Thank you Harry," Draco said, cutting Harry off and hugging him tightly.

Harry froze momentarily, but then he hugged Draco back. When the Slytherin pulled back from the hug his face looked wet and Harry, not wanting to draw attention to it, said, "So Auror classifications go from III to I. III is the equivalent of a trainee Auror, which means technically you can get fired at any point until you are promoted. Class II is a Junior Auror, Bailey and Burton are Class II. And Class I is a Senior Auror, which is what Ron and me are, and what Neville used to be."

"Your badge has a star, next to the 'I'," Draco remembered.

Harry frowned, "Uh yes, it does. I didn't think you'd have looked that closely at it."

"Photographic memory," Draco lied.

"Oh," Harry said, "Well, the star is for exemplary service," He looked embarrassed to admit that.

"What did you do, to get it?" Draco asked curiously.

"I saved the Minister for Magic," Harry replied, "I jumped in front of a curse for him…and I ended up in St. Mungo's for 6 months, so they gave me the star on my badge."

"That's either incredibly brave or stupid," Draco said dryly as he wiped his eyes hastily.

Harry laughed weakly, "A bit of both, I think. It normally is with me."

Draco smiled, "Thank you, for this."

"You deserve it," Harry said simply, he cleared his throat, "Just keep leading that team the way you do. The good thing about being an Auror, officially or not, is that it's very easy to climb the ranks quickly. You just need to be devoted to your job and keep acing cases like this one. The thing is Malfoy, a lot of Aurors are lonely because of the strains of the job, and the people we work with…they become like family to us."

"Yes," Draco agreed as he thought about his own team, "They do."

Harry nodded, and they stood in the corridor silently for a moment, "But anyway, take this," Harry said, thrusting a brown folder into Draco's hands, "It's your list of bail skippers for the week."

"Wow, thanks Potter," Draco drawled, "Way to ruin the moment."

"Were we having a moment, Malfoy?" Harry grinned as he walked away towards his own part of the building.

 **TBC :)  
**


	7. Heads or Tails?

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 7 - Heads or Tails?  
**

 _ **A/N: The basis of this chapter comes from an episode of the British TV programme "The Musketeers" :)**_

 _ **Enjoy :)**_

* * *

"I am going insane. When are we going to catch a case?"

"Whenever Potter gives us one," Draco remarked as Daphne let her head fall onto the table with a loud thump.

"I'm so bored," Theo whined.

"It's been a month since our last case, Draco," Eddie agreed, "We're all sick of dealing with petty crimes."

"Yes well we can't make cases appear," Draco said with a raised eyebrow, "Unless you want to go out and murder someone to create a case?"

Daphne opened her mouth and Neville gave her a pointed look, "Don't say anything."

Daphne glared at the former Gryffindor, "Can't you go talk to your best bud and see if he has _anything_ interesting he can give us?"

"I could," Neville said thoughtfully, "But I won't because if he had something for us he would have come down here with it."

"Ugh!" Daphne groaned, "Draco, _please_ talk to Potter."

"Longbottom is right, if he had a case for us he'd have given it to us," Draco said simply.

"You're just totally on his side now that he gave you that stupid badge," Theo moaned.

"I swear, you polish the damn thing," Daphne teased.

"I've seen him just sitting at his desk staring at it," Neville grinned.

Draco rolled his eyes and got to his feet, "Fine! I'll talk to Potter if it will shut you lot up. Honestly, you're like a bunch of crime obsessed kids!" He said as he stalked to the door and stormed out. Truthfully he was missing it too. Dealing with petty crime was boring and he wanted a real case as well but he was supposed to be the calm, controlled one. That was his role as their leader. When he reached the office there seemed to be an awful lot going on. Everyone was running about, so Draco leant in the doorway and wondered how long it would take for somebody to notice him.

"Malfoy!" Harrison Bailey realised eventually.

"Wondered how long it would be until you noticed me," Draco drawled, "What's going on here?"

"We just got a case in," Dana Burton said.

"Anything interesting?"

"Just a murder," Harry said as he walked out of his office, "Looks like a wife killing her unfaithful husband, run of the mill stuff. What brings you here, Malfoy?"

"My team are driving me insane. They have cabin fever," Draco admitted in amusement, "They're going mad without a case. Daphne is hitting her head off of her desk and I'm positive I caught Longbottom and Theo playing Quidditch in the basement yesterday."

Harry laughed, "It gets like that sometimes. It's either mad around here, or dead quiet."

"Pun intended?" Draco asked.

Harry grinned, "Entirely."

"I don't suppose you have anything you can hand over to us?" Draco asked, "I don't know how much longer I can put up with it."

"I've got one, but it's tricky. We've barely any evidence, we're thinking of shelving it as a cold case," Harry admitted, "I'll grab the file though. I doubt it's solvable but at the very least it will give you something interesting to do. Come on."

Draco followed Harry into his very messy office, he smirked but said nothing as Harry raked through his filing cabinet and eventually pulled out a thin brown file, "Here it is."

"Thanks, even if you are just helping me to entertain them," Draco said in amusement.

Harry's eyes sparkled with amusement, "Running a team like this is like having kid. They need constant attention or they whine."

"Tell me about it, my nephew is easier than that lot," Draco laughed as they left his office. Harry's team were now waiting for him.

"Your nephew?" Harry asked curiously.

"Teddy," Draco confirmed, "I reconciled with my Aunt Andy not long after the war. You're his Godfather, aren't you?"

Harry nodded, "I'm surprised I haven't seen you around."

"Well I was a criminal, and you were the Auror who was constantly on my case. I didn't exactly want to bump into you over birthday cake with a blue haired child," Draco grinned, "But I suppose I'll see you at his birthday party next week."

"I suppose so," Harry mused, "Well I better get off Malfoy. Have fun with that case."

"Will do," Draco said, leaving the office before Harry started giving out orders to his team.

* * *

"Is that a file in your hand?" Daphne asked eagerly.

"Yes, but Potter only gave it to me to humour you lot," Draco said in amusement, "Apparently there's hardly any evidence and it was going to be shelved as a cold case, but he's letting us have a go at it first."

"Well, what's the case then?" Eddie asked curiously.

"It's a missing person's case," Draco said, putting his feet up on his desk as he flipped through the file, "Scratch that…missing people."

"How many?" Neville asked.

"Three."

"Any connection?" Theo asked.

"I'd say so," Draco frowned, "Two women, and a man. All aged between 24 and 25."

"Our age," Daphne said slowly.

"Do we know them?" Eddie frowned.

"Some of us must know some of them," Draco said, "I mean they're all British. We went to school with them."

"Who are they?" Neville asked anxiously.

"The first person to go missing was Sally-Anne Perks, aged 24," Draco said.

"Hufflepuff," Eddie frowned, "She was very quiet, she had good grades…bit of a Hermione Granger."

"You knew her?"

"I have a good memory for names and faces," Eddie admitted.

"She's a pureblood," Draco said as he glanced at the file.

"Are they all pureblood?" Theo asked.

"I'm not sure," Draco replied, "The second person to go missing was Su Li, also a pureblood."

"Ravenclaw…quiet, academic…very similar to Sally-Anne," Eddie said.

Draco frowned, "And the third person was also a pureblood, Wayne Hopkins."

"Hufflepuff…not sure how academic he was, but he was also very quiet," Eddie said.

"So there's one connection. They were all quiet unassuming individuals…people who wouldn't necessarily be noticed too much if they disappeared," Draco said.

"They are also all children of people who are, or were, in the 'Neutral' political party," Daphne pointed out.

"Potter realised that too, he's noted it in the file," Draco said, "But that doesn't exactly help us. Why would somebody be picking off the neutrals? They didn't fight in the war, and they didn't help Voldemort either."

"But there were lots of conspiracy theories about them," Daphne pointed out, "A lot of people thought they were secretly providing the Death Eaters with money, and support."

"Were they?" Eddie asked.

Draco shook his head, "No, they have always remained neutral. But if you are right Daphne, that suggests that this isn't an ex-Death Eater."

"I think it's far more likely it's someone who has a grudge against the Death Eaters," Daphne said.

Draco glanced at the file thoughtfully, "Potter and his team only looked at this from the angle that it was an ex-Death Eater…maybe we can find out more if we look at it from a different angle."

"So who would want to kill the children of neutrals, if they thought the neutrals had helped the Death Eaters?" Theo asked.

"Someone who lost someone they loved to Death Eaters," Neville realised, "All of these people are our age…if this person thought the neutrals played a part in say, their child or their siblings death, then maybe they are punishing the neutrals by taking their children."

"That…" Draco trailed off, "That actually makes perfect sense Longbottom."

Neville smirked, "I was an Auror for years."

Draco nodded, he was clearly deep in thought, "Alright. You probably have the best record with Headmistress McGonagall. Go to Hogwarts and ask for the records of all students who were in our year. We need to know their parents' names, their sibling's names and their last known addresses."

"She'll want a warrant," Neville warned, "From a judge, there's no way she'll just hand them over."

"Is our reasoning sound enough for a warrant?" Draco asked his second in command.

"That depends on the judge," Neville admitted, "So it's a good thing really that I'm still on good terms with my ex Padma."

Eddie grinned, "The Great Honorable Padma Boot?"

"That's the one," Neville said with a smug grin, "I'll see if I can get her to agree to a warrant for the records."

"Until we get one, there's a limit to what we can do," Draco admitted, "But we'll start a manual list while you're at it Longbottom."

Neville nodded, "I'll be as quick as I can," He promised as he slipped out of the basement.

Draco was too busy spreading out a large sheet of parchment to respond, "Right then you three! Heads together, who in our year, died or was injured in the war?"

* * *

By the time Neville returned, with a very smug grin on his face, the list was quite small and very much incomplete.

"I got the warrant," Neville said, he waved his wand and two cardboard boxes appeared on the floor, "And I took it to Hogwarts. Here is a copy of every student's record, with all of the information we need."

Draco sighed in relief, "Great. Everybody grab a handful of files and work your way through them," He ordered.

"Did you have any luck here?" Neville asked as he grabbed some files and sat down at his desk behind Draco's.

"Not really, we figured out that 7 people in our year are now dead," Draco said, "Blaise was killed by Daphne, that's a complicated story, so we'll not get into that - and Crabbe was killed in the war. But his Father was a Death Eater, so he would have no grudge against the neutrals."

"Same with Millicent Bulstrode, her parents were Death Eater sympathizers so that rules them out too," Daphne said.

"Which leaves us with Lavender Brown, Zacharias Smith, Leanne Fox and Morag MacDougal…a Gryffindor, two Hufflepuff's and a Ravenclaw, ironically this wasn't a Slytherin."

"You never know," Neville said, "Just because _they_ weren't Slytherins doesn't mean their parents or siblings weren't. I mean, look at me, my Dad was a Ravenclaw and my Mum was a Hufflepuff and I became a Gryffindor."

"I'm the Slytherin daughter of a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw," Daphne said.

"Slytherin son of two Slytherin parents," Draco admitted.

"We know," Theo and Eddie said, simultaneously.

"And I'm the Slytherin son of two Ravenclaws," Theo added in amusement, "Probably explains where my intelligence comes from. How about you Ed?"

"Well my Mum was a Muggle, but my Dad was a Ravenclaw," Eddie said, "So I guess I'm boring."

Draco hummed thoughtfully, "Right then team. You are looking for people who were injured in the war. Longbottom?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you and I should look through these four files," Draco said as he handed Lavender Brown and Zacharias Smith's files to Neville, and kept Leanne Fox's and Morag MacDougal's to look through himself.

"I think we're going to need coffee for this," Daphne said as she looked at the mountain of files in front of them.

* * *

By 6pm, they hadn't discovered anything else. All they knew was that whoever was causing the trouble had to be a relative of Brown, Smith, Fox or MacDougal. They were getting ready to call it quits for the day when Harry strolled in.

Draco frowned, "What have you done to your face?"

Harry mirrored his frown, and raised his hand to his cheek, where there was a blood, "Oh, I didn't even realise it was bleeding. The murderer of that case we caught today put up a fight."

"Come here, and I'll sort it," Neville said, motioning to the spot beside him on the sofa.

Harry sat down heavily, and asked, "So, how is my tricky case treating you?"

"Not great," Draco said honestly, "All we managed to work out was that, like you, we think there is a connection to the Neutrals. But we don't think that makes it a Death Eater, we think it's the opposite."

Harry raised an eyebrow, and then winced as Neville used a cleansing charm on the cut on his cheek.

"You're an Auror, deal with it," Neville said in amusement.

Harry glared at his friend and looked back at Draco, "What do you mean, Malfoy?"

"Well, we think this was someone with a grudge against the Death Eaters," Draco explained, "Daphne pointed it out, and it makes sense. There are a lot of conspiracy theories that the Neutrals helped the Death Eaters, obviously that isn't true but what if somebody was convinced that it was?"

"They would want revenge," Harry realised, "So you think this is someone hurting kids for revenge?"

"For revenge because they lost their child, or their sibling," Daphne said with a nod, "We think it's the parent or sibling of someone in our year who died because all of the missing people were in our year."

"That's a reasonable assumption," Harry said thoughtfully, "Who have you narrowed it down to?"

"A relative of Lavender Brown, Zacharias Smith, Leanne Fox or Morag MacDougal. They were all pureblood, so their parents could do this," Theo said.

"We're assuming it's a parent. Brown, Smith and Fox were all only children and MacDougal has an older brother," Draco told Harry.

"It's not MacDougal," Harry said, his gaze fixed on Draco.

"Why?" Eddie asked.

"Because whoever did this is the parent of an only child," Draco realised under Harry's stare, "That's why they are doing this…"

Harry nodded, "When their child died they lost everything. We can therefore assume that this person's wife or husband is also dead or that they are divorced…The three missing people, are they all only children?"

Draco glanced at the file and flicked through the information on the three missing people. After a minute or so he looked up and said, "Yes."

"Then this is definitely the parent of an only child," Harry said firmly, "What do we know of the parents of Brown, Smith and Fox?"

"Brown's Father was a Slytherin, he's a lawyer," Draco said conversationally, "Her Mother was a Hufflepuff and runs a jewelry stall in Diagon Alley."

"And Smith?" Harry asked, hissing in pain as Neville dabbed some alcohol on his wound, "Can I have some of that to drink?"

"Unless you want to drink pure alcohol and kill yourself, no," Neville grinned, "She really got you Harry. This is pretty deep, you're lucky it's just a flesh wound."

"Yeah well, she picked up a kitchen knife," Harry said offhandedly, "It barely even hurt, I thought it was just a nick. But anyway Malfoy, do go on."

Draco shook his head in amusement, "Smith's Father was also a Slytherin, and he owns a gambling arcade in Knockturn."

"Sounds dodgy, his Mother?"

"She was a Ravenclaw, unemployed due to mental illness. She's had long spells in St. Mungo's."

Harry nodded, "Fits, doesn't it Neville?"

Neville nodded, "Yes, it does. And I think it's our most likely option, if I remember correctly Leanne's parents were a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor, and her Father is a Healer. I think her Mother works in Eeylops."

"Yeah, that's right Longbottom," Draco said.

"Do you have an address for Smith's Father?" Harry asked as Neville finished with his face and closed up the cut.

"We do, but we can't just barge in there all guns blazing. Can we?" Eddie asked in disbelief.

"No, we can't," Harry chuckled.

"What on Merlin's bloody Earth is a gun?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry snorted, "A Muggle weapon that kills people. Anyway, Eddie is right. We, or rather _you_ can't just run in there…and I don't think we have enough for an arrest warrant either…you'll have to think of something else."

"And I assume that means you won't help us," Draco said in amusement.

"I'm just your boss," Harry grinned, "You need to work this out alone. Come find me if you need my help, or if you get enough evidence for a warrant, Draco."

"Will do, see you later Potter," Draco said as the dark-haired man left the office. He got to his feet, "Right then. None of you go home until we have a plan."

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Well we can't all barge in there. It would look suspicious. But what if a couple of us showed up on his door wanting to talk about something else?"

"Play him to get in the house you mean?" Eddie asked.

Daphne nodded, "I'm sure we could think of something to say to him so that he would let us in."

"He's a gambler…" Theo mused, "What if we told him we worked for the WWN and we were doing a radio broadcast about gambling."

"That's a brilliant idea Theo!" Draco said loudly, "He'd want to talk about his business and he'd let us right in the door…we'd have to go under glamour, and we'd have to forge fake identities but yes…it would work."

"I can sort out the WWN identity cards," Theo said, "They're easy to replicate, they don't even have a magical trace like Auror badges and most ID cards do."

"You could make them tonight?" Draco asked thoughtfully.

Theo nodded, "Yeah, it won't take more than a couple of hours."

"Alright," Draco said, "So we have to decide who goes in then."

"We could be dealing with a hostage situation," Neville said, "And we could also be dealing with a criminal mastermind. I think we really have to say that I should be one of the people who goes in. I was trained for this."

"I don't think anybody will argue with that Longbottom," Draco said honestly, "You are definitely the most qualified. The only question is who will go with you."

"I hate to say it again and sound like a coward, but I'm much more use on the outside monitoring things," Theo spoke up.

"You're right, you forge things, you monitor things, you break down wards," Draco nodded vigorously, "That's your job, that's what you're good at. Which means it's down to one of us three," He said to Daphne and Eddie.

"Well somebody who has a vague understanding of his motives should go," Eddie said, "And as a half-blood I know next to nothing about political parties, let alone the Neutrals."

"I did think that," Daphne said, "And my Father is a Neutral."

"I want to say that I'll do it," Draco admitted, "But I'm not sure how much use I would be. I do know a lot about the Neutrals, but my parents were Death Eaters. I'm exactly the kind of person he hates, if he sees through my disguise I'd be dead instantly."

"The stakes are too high for you," Daphne admitted, "You're right. Neville and I should do it."

Draco looked between them for a moment and then nodded, "Alright. We'll finalise things tomorrow morning. I expect to see you all here at 7am sharp."

They all got to their feet to leave, and when they had put their jackets on Draco said, "Longbottom, Daphne, stick around for a few minutes please."

They froze, and Eddie and Theo left, their footsteps echoing down the concrete stairs and around the basement. When there was silence once more Draco pushed himself onto his desk and said, "Is there going to be a problem tomorrow?"

"Why would there be a problem?" Daphne asked calmly.

"With you two going undercover together," Draco said pointedly, "Is that going to cause a problem?"

"Why would it cause a problem, Malfoy?" Neville asked smoothly.

"I know you slept together last month while we were dealing with the squib case," Draco said, he crossed his arms, "And I don't want personal feelings to get in the way of the job."

"There are no personal feelings," Neville said firmly, "It was just drunken sex."

"We were both upset about the case, that's it," Daphne agreed.

Draco surveyed them both and finally said, "Alright, you can go. I'll see you in the morning."

They said goodnight and left, and Draco sighed heavily as he hung his Auror robes up on the hook by the door and threw his jacket on. He decided to leave from the upstairs apparition point, in the odd chance that Harry was still in the office. When he reached the main team office it was empty and the lights were out. But the door to the terrace was slightly ajar and when Draco slipped out he wasn't surprised to see Harry leaning against the railing, cigarette in hand, wearing a red leather jacket.

"Did you work something out then?" Harry asked conversationally.

"We're going in undercover tomorrow," Draco sighed, "Can I have one of those?"

"I thought you hated the smell," Harry chuckled as he gave Draco a cigarette.

"I do," Draco mumbled as he lit it with a click of his fingers and took a drag. He sighed.

"What's got you so stressed out?"

"Inter-team relationships," Draco muttered, "Two of my lot slept with each other. And now they're going into a dangerous situation under glamour…and I don't know if I can trust them to not let their feelings get in the way."

Harry sighed, "It happens when you work so closely with people…you see them nearly die right in front of you and you form connections. In Auror training we have this thing called the simulation room, it simulates awkward situations and your worst nightmares...it's to test you, to see how you deal with a situation. You were in one of my first ones, actually."

Draco raised an eyebrow, " _I_ was?"

Harry nodded, "The brief was to bring in the enemy alive, interrogate them and get a confession. There was a no kill order on the target and you were the target. They were testing me, to see if I could get over the fact you were my arch-enemy at school and arrest you. Or if I would lose my temper and kill you."

"Did you kill me?" Draco asked curiously.

"No," Harry replied honestly, "I arrested you, and you cried like a baby and pleaded for mercy. It was far more rewarding than killing you would have been."

Draco snorted, "Yet in real life that didn't happen."

"No," Harry agreed with a grin, "In real life you _joined_ me."

"That's even worse," Draco joked.

"But even more satisfying for me," Harry laughed.

Draco shook his head in amusement, "But back to the point, do you think they'll be okay tomorrow?"

"They'll be fine," Harry said, "Personal feelings do get in the way. You can't help that, nobody is entirely shut off. Sometimes they can actually help though. Yes, they make you do stupid things but sometimes a stupid thing can be the right thing."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Alright, if you're going to spout philosophical shit I'm going home. It's far too late at night for this," He said as he left Harry alone on his terrace.

* * *

The following morning the entire team gathered in the basement at 7am, just as Draco had asked. He was pacing as he gave them their instructions for the day.

"Alright, Longbottom and Daphne, you two are going in under glamour with the pretense of working for the WWN," Draco said as he handed them their fake ID's, "Theo made these for you last night. There's no way he'll doubt them."

"What will the rest of us be doing?" Theo asked.

"You'll be on the roof," Draco said, "I want the usual from you and Eddie. A map of the building with tracking spells on Longbottom and Daphne and life signs too Eddie. If the hostages are hostages, and weren't just murdered I want to find them."

Eddie and Theo nodded.

"I'll be on the roof with you two," Draco said, "But I'm there as back-up. So if you need me, open the communication channel and I'll come in."

"Alright," Daphne said, "When is this happening?"

"Now," Draco said, "Before he leaves for work at 8.30am, that's why I asked you all here so early. We are leaving from the apparition point right away. Theo, Eddie and I will be invisible and you two will be under glamour _before_ you leave. You'll look the same as you did for the last undercover stint you did together, like Theo put on the ID cards."

Daphne and Neville wasted no time in sorting out their glamour charms. It only took 5 minutes, and when it was done they all started to walk to the apparition point together, "Once we get there you two head straight to the door and remain in character. We'll work our way to the roof while under disillusionment charms. Are we ready?"

There were nods all around so they left. When they reached their destination they put their plan into place. It was an isolated building in rural Hampshire. It was a fairly sizeable manor and like any wizarding residence it had an enchanted gate. Draco, Eddie and Theo remained disillusioned as Daphne put her hand on the gate and waited for entry.

A voice spoke, from beyond the gates, through the medium of a charm, "What business do you have here?"

"Hi there Mr. Smith," Daphne smiled, "I'm Athena Blacklaw, and this is Arcturus Cartwright. We're from the WWN, we are working on a radio broadcast about gambling, and we'd love to chat to you about it. Possibly even record a segment to play on air?" She held up her ID card and Neville did too.

There was a pause, "Of course, it would be my pleasure. Come in."

The gates opened, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Draco, Eddie and Theo slipped in behind Daphne and Neville, and when they headed straight for the door, the others branched off to find a way to climb onto the roof towards a convenient monitoring point.

Inside the house Daphne and Neville met a tall man, with greying blonde hair and a smug sort of smile. He offered them tea and they took seats in the drawing room. The conversation began with gambling questions, simple things about his business and his customers. It seemed to be going well until Daphne brought up his son.

"And you lost your son in the war, Mr. Smith. Did that have an effect on the business, it is called Smith & Sons, isn't it?"

Alexander Smith's face paled, and his eyes narrowed. Neville began to reach for his wand, but they had failed to realise that Smith had accomplices. He raised his hand and clicked his fingers, and Neville and Daphne were both hit in the back with stunning charms.

* * *

"Do you have any eyes in there yet?" Draco asked impatiently.

"Getting there, the wards are complicated," Theo mumbled.

"Nearly got through the external wards," Eddie said, his eyes were shut tight with concentration.

"I can tell," Theo said quietly.

"Got them," Eddie said, his eyes snapping open.

Theo sighed with relief, "That makes my job easier, thanks Ed."

"He's definitely hiding something," Eddie breathed, "Those were ridiculously complex wards."

"He's not kidding, they're practically Gringotts level," Theo muttered as his map began to come to life with rooms, and corridors.

"Remember, this is still a pureblood Manor," Draco said quietly, "Strong wards are to be expected on the more ancient houses like this one and I have a feeling it was a safe house for the Order of the Phoenix during at least one war."

"Still," Eddie muttered, "There was something off about those wards."

"Got the map," Theo said as he pushed it towards Draco.

Draco smiled eagerly, "Great. Eddie, any chance of getting some life signs?"

Eddie nodded and closed his eyes once more, his hand was gripped tightly on his wand and he had paled slightly. The wards had drained his magic significantly, but he persevered as he lay on the roof, mumbling in Latin.

It took another 10 minutes or so, but the life signs gradually began to appear on the map. Draco surveyed it as they did. He frowned, "Is that a dungeon?"

Theo followed Draco's finger and nodded, "Uh, it's a secret basement beneath the drawing room, a lot of families have them-"

"I know," Draco said darkly, "But look Theo. There is only one life sign in that house that _isn't_ in that basement."

"So either Smith's turned it into a secret gambling room, or they've caught Neville and Daphne," Eddie whispered.

Theo surveyed the map, "More life signs are appearing. Holy shit, Draco, there are about 10 more people in that house."

"Guards," Draco muttered, "Look, there are two guarding each entrance to the drawing room…they are guarding the way to the basement…"

"Which means they have to fight their way out," Theo said.

"Or we have to fight our way in," Draco said darkly.

"Well what do we do now?" Eddie whispered, "You can't go in there, they'll be on the lookout now."

"I can't just leave them in there either," Draco said.

"Call Potter," Theo said quietly, "On your communications bracelet."

"Potter is busy with his own cases," Draco muttered, "We can't pull him away."

"He said if there were emergencies to call him," Eddie whispered, "And Daphne and Neville have been captured. I'd say this was an emergency."

Draco frowned as he tried to think of an alternative or anything else that they could do. But he drew a blank and groaned as he pushed his communications bracelet 6 times for Potter. He had to wait for a couple of minutes for an answer.

"Malfoy, I'm having lunch with Hermione. Is this urgent?"

"You tell me," Draco remarked dryly, "Longbottom and Daphne were caught, they are in the basement."

"How many others are in there?" Harry asked quickly.

"Two others in the basement, probably hostages," Draco whispered, "And 2 guards in the house."

"Shit, Draco, look," Theo hissed as he looked down to the grounds of the house.

"What? What's going on? Dra - Malfoy, are you okay?"

"Not exactly Potter," Draco whispered, "There are about 10 other guys surrounding the house. We're on the roof so they probably won't find us but that also means we're stuck here and we can't go in after Neville and Daphne."

"Just stick it out, and stay quiet Malfoy," Harry said, "I'll be there with back-up as soon aspossible. Potter out."

His communications bracelet went silent and Draco shuffled anxiously on the roof, desperately hoping that the people below didn't think to look up here for accomplices.

* * *

"Enervate!"

When Neville and Daphne awoke they were sitting in a dark cellar lit by candles in lanterns. They weren't chained to the walls or the ground but their hands and feet were bound with magical ties. Their glamour charms had been removed and they looked like their normal selves. Sitting across from them in the cellar, looking pale and thin but uninjured, were Su Li and Wayne Hopkins.

"You two are alive," Neville said quietly.

Su Li nodded, "He killed Sally-Anne," She whispered.

"Why?" Daphne whispered.

"He thinks it's all some sick game," Wayne said shakily.

Daphne frowned and was going to ask them to elaborate when a trap door above them opened and Smith jumped down. He shut it behind him and smirked at them, "Ah, new toys. How fun."

"Toys?" Neville asked in disbelief, "I'm an Auror, you do understand that the penalty for murdering an Auror is life in Azkaban?"

Smith just smiled, "Azkaban does not scare me. Besides, I will not kill you. Fate will decide."

"Fate will decide?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"That's his game, don't play it," Su whispered.

"Shut up!" Smith roared as he turned to the girl, "Or you'll end up like your friend, in the lake outside!"

"You do realise that's a confession, don't you Smith?" Neville asked matter of factly.

"You would need to survive to pass that on to anyone, Mr. Longbottom," Smith said simply, he turned back to Su who was whimpering in the corner. Smith grinned wickedly at her, "I think…yes…I think I should teach you a lesson. I think it's your turn to play the game."

"No," Su said, "No, I don't want to!"

Smith pulled a galleon from his pocket, "Do you pick the dragons head or its tail, Miss Li?"

"What are you doing?" Neville asked angrily.

"This is the game, Mr. Longbottom," Smith said simply, "The stakes are high but that is what makes it so fun."

"You call this fun? These two are scared for their lives! And you've already killed one innocent person!" Daphne exclaimed.

"Innocent? INNOCENT? You make me laugh!" Smith barked out a manic laugh, and Neville frowned in Daphne's direction. This guy was insane.

Smith snapped back to complete calmness, "Anyway, I didn't kill them. Lady luck did. Pick, Miss Li!"

"I don't want to pick," Su whimpered.

"Ah but you have to Miss. Li," Smith said in a condescending tone of voice, "Or else I'll just kill you anyway. If you do pick you at least have a chance at living. If you choose correctly you will live and I will let you walk away from here and if you choose wrongly I will kill you, right here."

"Don't pick, he's bluffing," Daphne said quickly.

"No he's not," Su Li sobbed, "He did it to Sally-Anne. He killed her, we saw him kill her."

"You are perfectly right Miss. Li," Smith said casually, "So will it be the dragons head or its tail?"

"It's head," Su whispered.

Smith's wicked grin returned as he tossed the galleon into the air and let it fall onto his hand. He lifted his hand, and Su screamed when she saw that it had landed on the dragon's tail.

"Pity," Smith sighed, "You are such a pretty young lady after all. There was so much potential there. Never mind… diffindo," He said almost lazily.

Daphne screamed as Smith's severing charm cut Su's head clean off of her shoulders. The blood sprayed everywhere and covered all of them. Neville retched, and Daphne tried to lunge at Smith, but Neville kicked her to avoid her getting herself into more trouble than she needed to. Su Li's limp body fell to the floor and with a wave of Smith's wand it vanished.

"I wonder if all these corpses will pollute my lake," Smith pondered to himself, "I do love my fish…"

"Why did you do that?" Neville asked, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

"To punish her," Smith replied smoothly.

"Who are you really punishing, her or her Mother for being involved with the Neutrals?" Daphne asked hotly.

Smith smiled, not so much of a teeth baring grin, but more like an eerie, creepy smile, "Ah, very clever Miss. Greengrass. Of course you saw the connection, your Father is a Neutral after all, is he not?"

"Yes, he is," Daphne said, "So are you going to kill me next?"

"No," Smith said honestly, "I find that much too boring…the game does not stay the same every time I play it. The methods change, but the rules stay the same. Fate always decides and the game is not over until I am the last person in this room."

"Does that mean you're going to kill us all?" Wayne asked quietly.

"No, it means that whether we leave because we win, or leave because we die, the game isn't over until we are all gone," Neville replied.

"Precisely, Mr. Longbottom," Smith said with a nod, "The question is…who will play next? The son of a Neutral? The daughter of a Neutral? Or the son of two fallen, insane war heroes?"

"Don't talk about my parents that way!" Neville hissed, fighting against his restraints.

Smith laughed, "You have spirit. I'll let you live a little longer…Miss. Greengrass, it's your turn. The dragons head or its tail?"

"What are the stakes?" Daphne asked with narrowed eyes.

"If you call correctly you leave," Smith said, "If you call incorrectly you murder your Auror friend here."

Daphne swallowed, "And if I refuse?"

"I kill you both," Smith replied matter of factly.

"Do it Daphne," Neville muttered.

"And risk having to kill you?" Daphne asked in disbelief.

"Do it," Neville said hotly, "There's not any point in both of us dying in here. Call it."

Daphne frowned, but turned to Smith, "Tail."

"That's the spirit!" Smith grinned. He flipped the galleon into the air and it soared down, landing on his hand softly. He held his hand out and Daphne breathed a small sigh of relief when she saw that it had landed on tails.

"You're a lucky lady Miss. Greengrass," Smith said as he pulled open the trapdoor, "You are free to go."

Daphne got to her feet, but hesitated.

"Daphne, go!" Neville said irritably.

"Neville," Daphne whispered, "How am I supposed to go and leave you here? How am I supposed to live with myself?"

"You're the ice queen," Neville retorted, "The one who sleeps with guys and doesn't care about their feelings, remember?"

Daphne's eyes lingered on his.

"Go, for Godric's sake Daphne!" Neville snapped, "Or are your personal feelings getting in the way?"

"Yes, they are!" Daphne exclaimed, "Because I can't leave you to die here Neville!"

"Ah, how romantic," Smith grinned, "Maybe I'll change my mind and make you stay."

"GO, DAPHNE!" Neville roared.

Daphne didn't hesitate anymore, she jumped out of the trapdoor and Smith snapped it shut behind her. She ran from the building and her hopes of finding Draco and the others were shot when she found herself cornered by about 5 guards who grabbed her and frog marched her to the gates.

* * *

"Is that Daphne?"

"Yes," Draco whispered, "Where are they taking her?"

"They're letting her go," Theo said in disbelief.

Eddie frowned. The gates closed, and Daphne disappeared, "Why would they do that?"

"I don't know, but I heard screaming and Longbottom is still down there," Draco said darkly, "I'm going in through the attic."

"Potter said to sit tight," Theo hissed.

"Potter said that half an hour ago. Where is he and his back up now?" Draco bit in an angry whisper.

"You can't go in there alone Draco," Eddie whispered, "It's a suicide mission."

"Only if I get caught," Draco said, "Keep an eye on things from here. And if Potter does shows up, fill him in."

"Draco!" Theo hissed, "Draco!"

But Draco didn't stop his crawl across the roof. He ignored Theo, and dropped into the house via the attic. He was careful, and he saw nobody as he walked through the house, still under a disillusionment charm. The drawing room door was protected by two guards, who had clearly come from outside. Draco managed to stun one with a whispered stunning charm, but the other was too fast for him and grabbed him before he could stun him. The disillusionment charm on him was removed and he was thrown roughly into the basement beneath the drawing room floor.

"Draco!" Neville shouted in surprised, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was trying to save you," Draco said hotly, "I heard screaming."

"That was Daphne, but he let her go," Neville said, motioning to the man who was watching them.

Smith smiled, "She won the game so she left. The game is fair."

"What the fuck is he talking about? He sounds like a fucking mad man," Draco hissed under his breath.

"It's this game, it doesn't end until everyone in the room is gone, or dead," Neville muttered, "You shouldn't have come after us you bloody idiot!"

"Yeah well that's the last time I try and do something fucking heroic," Draco muttered back.

"Draco Malfoy," Smith said with an odd smile on his face, "Death Eater. Son of the dead Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy."

"Well done, you know who I am," Draco said sarcastically.

"You are the perfect candidate for my game," Smith grinned.

"Why are you playing this game, Smith?" Neville asked irritably, "What could you possibly gain from it? What is the point?"

"THE POINT IS SUFFERING!" Smith roared, "My son suffered at the hands of the Death Eaters! The Death Eaters who received their funding from the Neutrals!"

"The Neutrals had nothing to do with your son's death," Neville told the man, "The Death Eaters alone were responsible. The Neutrals never supported them, that is a conspiracy theory Smith, it's a lie!"

"IT'S NOT A LIE!" Smith roared.

"Where's your proof?" Draco asked coolly.

"How else would criminals have been able to take over our country-"

"Because the Death Eaters were planted in the highest orders of society," Draco cut him off, "Voldemort had spies in every part of the Ministry, in Hogwarts, in St. Mungo's. This has nothing to do with the Neutrals and it certainly has nothing to do with their children."

Smith shook his head angrily, "They took him from me! My son was taken from me. MY ONLY SON! And now, I take the only sons and the only daughters of those who paid those men to take him!"

His face contorted into that horrible grin again, "I believe you are both, _only sons._ "

"Yes, and both of us don't have parents who are alive or would miss us," Neville said bitterly, "So there's no one for you to hurt. Nobody cares if we die, our parents are dead. What do you have to gain from killing us?"

"The answer to that is easy," Smith said, "You know too much about my game. You know far too much. You must play the game like the others. And it is your turn, Mr. Longbottom."

"What is the game?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"You will see, Mr. Malfoy," Smith said smoothly as he thumbed the galleon, "Will it be heads or tails, Mr. Longbottom?"

"What are the stakes?"

"If you have chosen correctly I will unbind your friend's arms," Smith said, "And if you choose incorrectly I will cut them off."

"What?" Draco barked, "What kind of sick game is this?"

"The twisted game of a madman," Neville answered in a whisper.

"Don't pick one, you can't pick one!" Draco hissed.

"If I don't he'll kill us both," Neville said calmly, "Those are the rules of the game."

"You sound as mad as him!" Draco exclaimed.

" _Pick,_ Longbottom!"

"Tails."

"Longbottom, if I lose my arms I will kill you with my fucking teeth," Draco hissed as the coin was tossed into the air, and landed on Smith's hand. He grinned as he looked down at it and showed Draco the coin. The dragons head was showing.

"Left arm or right arm first? I wonder…" Smith asked as he raised his wand and began to say a cutting charm. He brought it down, and Draco shouted out in agony as the curse cut into the top of his arm. Before the curse could be completed however the trapdoor burst open, and Neville kicked Draco out of the way of the curse so it could not penetrate any deeper. He found himself, lying on his side on the cold, concrete floor. His arm was bleeding profusely, and the wound was deep. He was trying not to show how much pain he was really in, but that wasn't easy. Some hope came in the fact that the person who had stormed into the cellar was Harry who was currently duelling Smith, and he looked really, _really_ angry.

But the room was small and the curses were bouncing off of the walls like wildfire and all it took was for Harry to duck just a little bit too soon. The curse just caught him, scoring his face with a long thin line, then he began to bleed. He recoiled and Smith grabbed him. He made quick work in pointing his wand at Harry's throat.

"Perfect timing, Mr. Potter!" Smith grinned, "It was Mr. Malfoy's turn to play the game."

"What game?" Harry asked coolly.

"Just go with it," Neville muttered as one of Smiths henchmen jumped down and forced Draco back up into a sitting position, the blood from his arm had covered his face, and stained his clothes.

"Heads or tails, Mr. Malfoy?" Smith asked, the bitterness that had been creeping into his voice now fully fledged.

"What are the stakes?" Draco asked breathily.

"If you call correctly I will let you all live. You will all leave here as free men. However, if you pick wrongly I will murder your friend," Smith said calmly.

"He's Harry Potter! He's a bloody national treasure," Neville said in disbelief, "You can't kill him! You would get the death sentence for that! They would send you through the veil!"

"It is not I who would be killing him, but fate," Smith said, sounding like the madman that he was, "Fate decides whether he should live or die, SO PICK MALFOY!"

"I hate to tell you but fate already decided whether I should live or die. The two killing curses I survived were a bit of a giveaway," Harry muttered.

"In that case you should have nothing to fear, Mr. Potter," Smith said calmly, "So long as you trust in your friend, here."

"Malfoy," Harry said quietly, "What the fuck is going on?"

"If we don't pick he kills all of us," Draco replied.

"That's how his game works," Neville said weakly.

"I have to pick," Draco said quietly, his eyes boring into Harry's.

The dark-haired man gave him a miniscule nod, and Draco looked down.

"PICK MALFOY!" Smith roared.

"Heads," Draco said quickly.

Smith threw his galleon in the air, and it landed perfectly in his hand. He held it out and they all breathed a sigh of relief when the head of the dragon was showing up. Smith removed his wand from Harry's throat, and said.

"The game is fair. You may all go."

Harry caught Draco's eye and seconds later three shouts of, "STUPEFY!" resonated around the room.

Smith stumbled and fell to the ground face first as all three curses hit him at the same time. Harry took out his henchman and the three more that had come running. Then he unbound Draco and Neville. While Neville went to help the other hostage, Harry, dropped to his knees next to Draco.

"Are you alright Draco?" Harry asked, pulling his emergency healing kit from his bag and pouring dittany on Draco's wound.

Draco groaned in pain and gripped Harry's arm, "Fucking fantastic!" he said through gritted teeth.

"Sorry, but it will get infected otherwise," Harry said, as he ripped away the rest of the arm of Draco's shirt and took a breath as he ran his wand over the skin to close it up. His hand didn't shake at all, and the scar that was left was perfectly straight.

"Thank you Potter," Draco said, as Harry helped him to his feet.

"Come on," Harry said, "Let's get out of here. We'll debrief back home in the basement."

* * *

As promised, they debriefed around an hour later.

Harry walked into the basement with his own team and he shut the door behind him. He asked what had happened and they told him everything, they gave him Smith's motives and they gave him memories and testimonies. By the time it was over, they were exhausted and as Harry and his team disappeared upstairs to continue with the aftermath, Draco told his team to take some early leave to recover from the day's events.

When they all left he sat down on the sofa and poured himself a glass of firewhiskey. He took a drink, his hands still slightly shaky from the events of the day. It had reminded him of the war. He had remembered Hermione Granger being tortured in his drawing room. He had remembered her screams, her blood, the scar carved into her arm. He had remembered his Father, his Father and the cruciatus curse. He had remembered the pain, the breaking of his bones only to be healed again afterwards. He remembered the laughter of the Death Eaters, the screams of his Mother, the silent tears on his Fathers face as he tried desperately to fight the imperius curse. Draco downed the remainder of his drink and put it down on the table a little too heavily. The glass vibrated and shattered as his magic flared.

He found himself craving one of those bloody Muggle cigarettes of Harry's. So he got to his feet, removed his Auror robes, put on his jacket and walked through the department into his team's office. The lights were dimmed, and Ron was sitting at his desk, but the two Junior Aurors had gone.

"He's on the terrace," Ron sighed, like he was resigned to the fact nothing he said or did would end Harry and Draco's budding friendship.

Draco simply nodded at the redhead and walked briskly across the office. When he walked out onto the terrace he sat down on one of the rickety chairs. It was dark in this fake environment, but there was a warm breeze and the stars were shining in the sky.

Harry turned around from his perch against the railing and held out a cigarette.

Draco took it gladly and lit it. Harry sat down across from him on the second rickety chair and waved his hand. Two glasses and a bottle of firewhiskey appeared on the table between them. The darker haired man smirked and said, "From the stash in my desk. Seems like it's a night for it."

Draco nodded his agreement and took a sip of the warm liquid. It burnt his throat and he sighed appreciatively as he took a draw of the cigarette, he was becoming too fond of these awful tasting muggle things.

"You could have killed me today," Harry said, his eyes fixed on Draco's.

Draco smirked, "Come on now, Potter. We both know that you weren't going to get killed by some madman. Your wand was in your hand the whole time, you could have gotten free at any point."

Harry actually smiled, he didn't smirk or grin, he _smiled,_ "I knew that, but I didn't know that you knew that."

"You underestimate me," Draco said smoothly.

"Apparently so," Harry said, his voice just as smooth.

"I called correctly anyway."

"There wasn't any skill in it," Harry said, "It was just luck."

"Ironic that I got it right then, I'm not a lucky person," Draco said darkly as he looked up at the stars.

"Look at what's happened in your life recently Malfoy. You've gone from being a sleazy criminal on the black market to a man leading a team of highly successful kind of Aurors. You've also been made an Auror yourself which isn't easy, trust me. I had to go through three years of training, and I'm Harry bloody Potter, I was fresh out the war in my bloody glory days then too. You've done pretty well for yourself really," Harry said matter of factly.

"I know. But just because my future looks brighter…well, it doesn't mean I can forget my past. I flashbacked to the war today in that basement," Draco said honestly, "I remembered Granger being tortured and me…just standing there…doing nothing."

"You did nothing for Hermione, that much is true," Harry said, as his own eyes went to the stars, "But you certainly did something for me."

Draco frowned, and turned his head to look at the green-eyed man, "What are you talking about?"

"You knew it was me, in Malfoy Manor," Harry said matter of factly, "You looked right at me, and you recognised me. I saw it in your eyes, but you didn't tell them it was me. You helped me."

"How do you know that I recognised you?" Draco asked curiously.

"You'd known me since we were 11 Draco," Harry said, "We were up close and personal on a lot of occasions. We liked to get in each other's faces when we were threatening each other," He shot the blonde a grin, "You'd have recognised me in a shot if you wanted to, swollen face or not."

Draco was silent for a moment.

"You're right. I did recognise you."

"I know."

"I didn't say anything because for once I wanted to try and do the right thing," Draco said quietly, "Don't knock it until you've tried it and all that."

Harry snorted.

"What?" Draco asked defensively.

"Nothing," Harry chuckled, he shook his head and threw his cigarette over the railing, "Would you have cared today Malfoy, if you had called wrong and I hadn't had my wand?"

Draco frowned, his gaze on the stars once more, "Of course I'd have cared. You're my friend."

"Am I?" Harry asked thoughtfully, "I was never quite sure what we were. Friends, acquaintances, people who tolerated each other for the sake of work…I do enjoy our little chats out here though."

"So do I," Draco admitted, "And we are friends, Harry. As much as I hate to admit it."

"Good," Harry said with a nod, "That's good, because I don't really have many friends. I mean, I have Hermione, Neville, and Ron, I suppose, but everybody else is more like an acquaintance-"

"You talk too much Potter," Draco sighed, "Just give me another cigarette and let me look at the stars in peace."

Harry snorted, "Didn't think you were the stargazing type Malfoy," he said as he handed the blonde another cigarette.

Draco shrugged, "I find it relaxing. Are they always this bright out here?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, "Because of the artificial weather charm. I never see anything though, none of that constellation rubbish. They're just stars to me."

Draco scoffed, "You just aren't looking closely enough, look there's me."

"You?"

"Draco, the constellation," Draco said matter of factly, "See?"

Harry shook his head, and Draco rolled his eyes, "Give me your hand."

"What?" Harry asked, his head snapping up.

"Your hand Potter," Draco drawled.

Harry held his hand out and Draco pointed it to the sky. He traced the lines of the stars that made up the constellation and failed to notice the faint blush on Harry's cheeks.

"Guess what it is yet?"

"It's a dragon," Harry realised, as he looked up, "That's its head!"

Draco smiled and leant back in his own chair, "Exactly. That's what my name means."

"That's pretty neat," Harry said, "Which one is Sirius? Can you see that one? He was my Godfather."

"Sirius is the Dog Star," Draco said, his hand still in Harry's, "It's that one there, the stars around it look like a dog. See?"

"I see it," Harry said quietly as Draco let go of his hand, and leant back, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and sighing.

"This is relaxing," Harry said as he leant back in his own chair.

"It's more relaxing if it's silent," Draco said with a pointed look at Harry.

The dark-haired boy smiled slightly and shut his eyes, enjoying the silence and the surprisingly pleasant company of Draco Malfoy.

* * *

"So. What's this I hear about you and Theodore Nott?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at her best friend, "Did you take me out for lunch because you miss me, or because you want to grill me on my latest dates?"

Harry fixed her with an amused look, "I took you out for lunch because I had to run off to deal with an emergency during our last lunch. But I also want to grill you on your love life."

"Nothing ever comes free with you," Hermione said, she shook her head.

Harry smirked at her across their table in a little café in Muggle London, "Hey Mione, I have missed you but we also need to talk about this Nott thing."

"We don't _need_ to talk about anything, Harry," Hermione said irritably.

"Look, I'm his boss, I've read his file-"

"Don't you trust me to pick who I date on my own?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

Harry faltered, "Well, it's just you haven't picked wisely recently, have you? Ron and you were a train crash and Theo, I mean, don't get me wrong hes a _nice_ guy, he's just-"

"If you say he's just not for me, I swear to Godric, I will hit you," Hermione said in a dangerous undertone, "I know about his past, I know that he has a lot of regrets but I actually like him Harry-"

"It's just the women, Hermione," Harry whispered, "I know how many people he's slept with and you can still get those sorts of diseases in the wizarding world you know? You should go to St. Mungo's and-"

"I cannot believe we are having this conversation," Hermione hissed, "I know the protective spells. Jesus Harry, if you can learn them and remember then I think it's safe to say that _I_ can."

"Alright," Harry whispered, "Alright, I'll leave it be. I'm burying it, for now. But I'll warn him, if this gets properly serious."

Hermione shook her head as their food arrived, "You're such a hypocrite, questioning me about my bad relationship choices. Theo may have a slightly murky past, but he wasn't a Death Eater."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," Harry said honestly as he bit into his pasta, "So you're going to have to elaborate on that one."

"You and Draco Malfoy," Hermione said, her eyes sparkling mischievously, "Sharing cigarettes and stargazing last night."

Harry's hand froze midway to his mouth, and Hermione grinned.

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked, putting the fork back in the bowl, "And hang on one minute, we were _not_ stargazing!"

"I came by to say goodnight to you," Hermione admitted, "I peeked through the door and saw you two, talking about stars and holding each other's hands. Harry, you took astronomy for two years, are you seriously telling me you couldn't find the Dog Star?"

Harry's cheeks flushed, "I don't know what you are insinuating Hermione but-"

"But you just wanted to hold his hand for a bit longer?" Hermione grinned, "It's your turn to be interrogated, Harry."

Harry glared at her, "We were just talking, we're friends. Whatever you think, you're wrong"

"I think you really wanted to hire him, and now you're becoming really good friends with him," Hermione said with narrowed eyes, "And I find that _very_ suspicious."

"Yes well, I find you dating Theodore Nott vaguely disturbing," Harry retorted, "So shall we just agree to live and let live and carry on with our lunch?"

Hermione surveyed her best friend for a moment and then nodded, "In the interest of our friendship I find that option to be the most suitable."

"Thank Merlin for that."

 **TBC :)  
**


	8. Fool Me Once

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 8 - Fool Me Once...  
**

"Good morning all!"

Everyone in the basement turned towards Harry's cheerful voice as his footsteps echoed down the concrete steps and he walked into the room. He leant against the wall and surveyed the team, "You all look positively miserable."

"Draco's in a bad mood because his date went dreadfully at the weekend," Daphne grinned.

Draco glared at the blonde, "It did not go _dreadfully-"_

"She called you a Death Eater and punched you in the face," Theo pointed out in amusement.

Harry snorted, "Who did you go on a date with, Hermione?"

Draco shook his head and looked pointedly at Theo, "Nah, I don't think Nott would forgive me. Besides, I never want to be hit that hard again, Granger has a damn good right hook."

"Tell me about it," Harry said in amusement, "So who punched you then? And didn't she know you were a Death Eater if she agreed to go on a date with you?"

"It was a blind date," Neville said in amusement, "Eddie set it up."

"I didn't know she was going to go mental and hit him," Eddie said, raising his hands defensively.

"Come on then, who was it with?" Harry asked.

Draco rolled his eyes, "She-Weasel."

"Ginny?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"It was awkward, it didn't even last 10 minutes," Draco said offhandedly, "Salazar only knows why Eddie thought it was a good idea."

"His logic was sound enough," Theo said, sticking up for his friend, "You don't like normal relationships. You're only happy if there's lots of screaming, shouting and duelling."

Harry snorted, "Yeah, well I know that feeling. Although with Ginny you get less of that and more crying. Jesus, she cried a lot."

Draco ignored Harry and shot a glare Theo's way, "And that's not true anyway. I've had normal relationships."

"With who?" Daphne asked in amusement, "You and me were always ripping shreds out of each other and you and Tracey were constantly screaming at each other. Then there was you and Pansy, you fought about Harry more than you talked."

"Fought about me?" Harry asked in amuseiment.

"Pansy wanted to snog him, he wanted to whine or rant about you," Theo grinned.

Harry snorted, and Draco rolled his eyes, "It was nice enough with Mandy."

"Yeah, Mandy was too nice for you," Theo remarked.

"That's why you cheated on her, with Daphne, if I remember correctly," Eddie added.

Harry whistled, "Now then, that's not a very nice thing to do to a lady, Malfoy."

"Oh come on Potter, we all know that's the real reason you broke up with She-Weasel. If you didn't sleep with Daphne then you slept with someone else," Draco said simply.

"It's really not the reason I broke up with Ginny. It was far more complicated and a lot more hurtful than cheating," Harry said, a dark shadow passing across his face, "But I didn't come down here to talk to you lot about my personal life, I got enough of that from Hermione when I took her out for lunch yesterday. Speaking of which, Nott, if you cheat on her or screw her over in any way you'll have me to deal with and you've seen how good I am in a duel."

Theo's face paled slightly, he nodded, "Right."

Draco looked down to hide his amused smirk, and then glanced back up, "So what brings you to our domain Potter?"

"I've lost my team," Harry admitted with a sigh, "Ron's working on some dragon welfare dispute with Hermione which I'm sure is great fun for those two. And Burton and Bailey are on a training course, so I need two volunteers to come along on a mission with me."

"What sort of skills are you needing?" Draco asked.

"Well, now that you mention it. I say volunteers…I really mean that I need Daphne to help me with an undercover job, and another person," Harry admitted with a sheepish grin at the blonde girl, "It will be just like old times."

Daphne laughed, "Yeah, I'm in. What's the job?"

"Ah, nothing difficult, just an arrest. We've been trailing a guy for a little while who we suspect to be involved with that smuggling ring we busted. He's spending the next two days with his girlfriend in a hotel so I need a fake girlfriend. We can pretend we're staying there to keep an eye on him."

"And that's where I come in," Daphne said knowingly, "Right then, what will it be this time? I was a blonde the last time we did an undercover couple stint, what do you want now, a redhead?"

"Whatever you want," Harry laughed, "Just wear expensive clothes and talk like your posh family do. It's a high-end hotel."

"Got ya," Daphne said with ease.

"So what do you need someone else for?" Draco asked curiously.

"Oh, I need someone to make the arrest," Harry said, "So it will have to be you or Nev because you two are the only real Aurors on the team."

"You've never really had an undercover job Draco," Daphne said thoughtfully, "Why not take a nice easy one to start off with?"

"It's a good idea," Neville agreed, "I'll hold the fort here, we'll bring in the rest of this week's bail skippers."

Draco nodded, he looked thoughtful and slightly nervous, "Alright then. What do you want me to do?"

"Go in as a single guest, a businessman," Harry said, "That way you can sit around in the restaurant or café or by the pool with some files making it look like you are working. It's the perfect chance to scope him out or catch him alone while Daphne and I stick close by him and get the dirt on him."

"Sounds easy enough," Draco said.

Daphne nodded, "Oh yeah, this is nothing. Do you remember that time we ended up in that dragon smuggling job for two months?"

"God I was sick of blonde hair after that," Harry said with a shake of his head, "I think I'll go light brown for this one."

"Do we have fake identities?" Daphne asked.

Harry nodded, "I just need to attach the pictures once we're all glamoured up. Until we've caught him, I'm Roger Simpson, and you are my lovely fiancée Larissa James."

He handed her a sparkling diamond ring, and Daphne grinned, "Ah, if only somebody gave me one of these for real," She said as she slipped it on, "I mean I've _only_ been engaged to you 4 times, and married to you…once?"

"Twice," Harry said in amusement, "You were my gypsy bride that time in the smuggling ring too."

"Oh yeah," Daphne said with a glint in her eye, "This will be fun, I've missed the undercover stuff."

"Just like old times," Harry grinned, "I'll meet you both at the upstairs apparition point in 20 minutes. Pack an overnight bag."

They nodded and Harry left the basement. As usual, the gossip and the chatter began as soon as his footsteps stopped echoing around the basement.

"Salazar Daphne, he wants to fuck you," Theo said in amusement.

Daphne laughed, "I doubt it. He hasn't done yet in all of our undercover work. There's been a lot of kissing, and a little bit of hanky panky," She winked, "But no sex."

"Nobody is that much of a gentleman," Eddie said in disbelief.

"It's obvious he likes you though" Draco said quietly, "He really wanted you on that undercover job."

Neville had been remarkably quiet, "It's not really any of your business anyway," He said with an amused look, "So you two better head off and get your overnight bags ready."

* * *

The rest of the day progressed with ease. Draco and Daphne met Harry at the apparition point, they glamoured up and finalized their fake ID's and then they apparated to the hotel. Harry and Daphne checked in first, and Draco followed half an hour later. They had set up their communication channel so they could talk at any point.

After they had arrived, and settled in, Harry and Daphne found themselves sitting in lounge chairs next to the indoor pool, because that was where the guy they were tailing, Samson Smithson, was and where he was, they went. They were under glamour but retained their bodies so Daphne couldn't help herself when she saw Harry come out of the changing rooms.

"Nice body," She whispered, "Either you've been working out since last time or it's glamour."

Harry grinned at her, "All mine. It's handy having a gym at the office."

"We have a gym?" Daphne asked in a whisper.

"I do, you don't," Harry teased, "Come on, let's go for a swim. We'll be able to talk easier that way."

Daphne nodded her agreement so they slipped into the pool together, "Could you have worn anything skimpier, by the way?"

Daphne laughed, she was wearing a white bikini, clearly she was trying to show as much skin as humanly possible without being arrested for indecency, "Why? Is it making you uncomfortable?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, "Is that what you think?" He asked in a quiet tone of voice.

Daphne opened her mouth to say that she only thought so because that was all she had to go on, but at that point Samson began to swim towards them. And as usual Daphne's way of acting natural, and in a place like this it was accurate, was to giggle and kiss him.

Harry kissed her back, and Samson swam straight past them with no issue at all. Draco was sitting in the café next to the pool and was watching the exchange curiously. He knew who they were even under glamour but he supposed that was because he knew what they normally looked like. For this occasion Harry's jet black hair was now light brown and he had brown eyes, as well as a few changes to his face shape. Daphne's blonde hair had been exchanged for dark brown, almost black hair and her eyes were still a striking blue. Draco had short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a boring suit and tie but he was supposed to look like a businessman so that he blended in.

He tapped his ear, and muttered, "If you two are quite done making out, Samson is on his way to the changing rooms."

Harry and Daphne broke apart, and Daphne smirked at Harry as she tapped her ear and whispered, "Jealous, Draco?"

There was a scoff, "You wish Daphne."

Harry chuckled, "Keep an eye on him from your end."

"Will do."

"When did you two date?" Harry asked curiously as he cut the communications channel off.

"Oh years ago," Daphne replied, they watched Samson enter the changing rooms, "At school."

"Ah," Harry said thoughtfully, "The Pansy days?"

"We call them the Potter days," Daphne laughed, "He was obsessed with you. I swear, I dated the guy for a year and at least once a day I would have to listen to him talk about you. Normally it was a rant with extreme underlying jealousy."

Harry shook his head in disbelief, "I don't get it. I really don't know why he hated me, or why he was jealous of me."

"He wanted to be your friend," Daphne said, "And you rejected him, that's why he hated you. You were famous and everyone thought you were pretty cool and hot, so-"

"People thought I was hot, in school?" Harry asked in amusement, "In my awkward, pre-Auror, leather jacket, cigarette and alcohol phase?"

Daphne grinned, "Yeah, people thought you were hot. You might have been awkward but there was no denying you were attractive. I swear to God I heard him," She jerked her head towards Draco, "Muttering about your entrancing green eyes at one point."

"That is definitely disturbing," Harry muttered in amusement, he had to hide his face in Daphne's neck to cover up his laughter, "I can't tell you how hilarious I find that. I thought I was the most awkward person ever at school."

"Nobody noticed me in school," Daphne said, looking up at him, "And look at me now."

"You were always attractive," Harry said honestly, "And I've always liked your personality. You're just a good person now rather than someone with questionable morals."

"Does that make me more or less attractive?" Daphne joked.

"Well that depends on your perspective," Harry laughed as his eyes went to the glass wall into the café. Samson had not yet emerged.

Daphne sighed, it was clear his mind was back in work mode, which brought an end to any and all fun conversation.

* * *

They spent the remainder of the day tailing Samson without making it obvious that they were tailing him. Daphne 'accidentally' bumped into his girlfriend in the spa and they got talking. That led to the four of them having dinner together with Draco sitting a little way away. All communications charms were left on so that Draco knew what was happening at the table.

"So how long have you two been together?" Samson's girlfriend, Stacey asked them.

Daphne smiled broadly, "Oh it's coming up on 4 years now, isn't it Roger?"

Harry returned her smile, "4 years in May, yeah."

"So did you go to school together?" Samson asked, he was a few years older than them, "Stace and I met at Hogwarts."

"No, we didn't," Harry said, "Larissa was home-schooled so we didn't meet until we were in our early 20's."

"Wow, home-schooling," Stacey said, "What was that like?"

"Oh, it was okay," Daphne said, "Not as weird as some people think. My parents didn't want me to go to boarding school, so I didn't go to Hogwarts."

"Were you at Hogwarts, Roger?" Samson asked.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I was in Hufflepuff."

"Ah, explains why I don't remember you, no offence," Samson laughed, "I was a Slytherin, and Stace was a Ravenclaw."

Harry could have gotten into an argument and defended Hufflepuff, but he stayed in character and remained silent. Their dinner went as planned, and they got Samson talking. They were invited round to Samson's hotel suite for drinks, which put them in a perfect position to arrest him. So after dinner, as Harry and Daphne walked hand in hand behind Samson and Stacey, Draco slipped behind them while invisible.

When they were alone it was easy to make the arrest and Draco disappeared back to the Ministry with Samson. Harry and Daphne agreed that they might as well spend the night in the hotel since it was paid for by Ministry expenses so they had shared a bottle of wine in their hotel room and were lying on the bed laughing about their school days.

Out of the blue Daphne kissed Harry and he pulled back sharply, "What are you doing?"

"I'm kissing you," Daphne said impatiently, she swung herself around so that she was straddling Harry and kissed him again.

Again, Harry pushed her away, "Daphne, why do you always do this?"

"Why do you always stop it?" Daphne asked irritably, "Salazar, Harry! How many times have we kissed, or shared a bed? Not to mention that time in Venezuela when I-"

"Yeah, we don't need to go into that!" Harry said quickly, his cheeks coloring.

"So what is the problem?" Daphne asked, verging on angry now, "I know you find me attractive and you admit that we're friends. You nearly slept with me back in Budapest, but you didn't so why the hell won't you sleep with me?"

"I do find you attractive Daphne, you're gorgeous," Harry admitted, "You really are. I'm just...I just don't see you that way."

Daphne raised an eyebrow at him, "You don't see me in a sexual way? Because I can feel that you do, if you catch my drift."

Harry groaned and threw his head back against the pillow, "Yes, I could have sex with you. I could, but that doesn't necessarily mean I want to. I didn't in Budapest because I was drunk and I knew I would only be doing it because…well because the press were outside and they would find out and it would have been published."

Daphne frowned, "Harry, what are you talking about?"

"I didn't want to sleep with you, just to save face Daphne," Harry said firmly, "Because that would have been all it was. That time in Venezuela was different, it was before I started to realise all….all of this."

Realization had slowly been dawning on Daphne's face as Harry spoke. Finally she fixed him with a look of disbelief and said, "You're gay."

Harry could only nod glumly.

Daphne was silent for a while, and then she said, "That makes so much sense…I mean, do you even enjoy kissing me or is it just for the job?"

"I enjoy kissing you, you're a great kisser," Harry admitted, "I just don't particularly like having sex with women. I can do it and I have in the past, it's just not very satisfying for me."

Daphne shook her head in disbelief, "How have I never noticed this before?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted sheepishly, "I thought you had always known and that you kept quiet for my sake. I didn't realise until recently that you hadn't worked it out."

"Does anyone else know?" Daphne asked, sitting back down on the bed next to him.

"A couple of people," Harry admitted.

"Granger?"

"Yes, she worked it out before I did," Harry said in amusement, "I told her I was having trouble connecting with girls, at first I thought it was the war, that it had numbed me, you know?"

Daphne nodded, and Harry continued, "But everything else started to get better and that didn't. So she decided to experiment by sending me out on a blind date, with a guy, which she didn't tell me about. I was going to kill her but then I realised she was right."

"Smart girl that Hermione Granger," Daphne smiled.

Harry chuckled, "Yes, she is."

"Does Weasley known?" Daphne asked.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, he's less okay with it but he knows, Ginny does too, when I broke up with her after 2 years I thought she deserved the truth."

"How did she take that?" Daphne asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Cruciatus curse," Harry said, he winced, "In a very sensitive place."

"Fuck me, that's cruel," Daphne said, "Even _I_ haven't done that."

Harry laughed loudly, and Daphne chuckled too, "I feel so much less angry towards you now I know the truth. You should have told me sooner, does anyone else know?"

"Just Neville," Harry admitted, "I mean I live with the guy, so how could he not know?"

"Isn't that awkward, when you bring guys back?" Daphne asked curiously, "And I'm not judging by the way, I've dipped my toes in all waters," She grinned.

Harry laughed and shot her a grin, "I know, I thought you'd be okay with it. I just didn't really trust you until this whole team thing cropped up. And no, it's not awkward because I generally don't do it. Neville is normally pretty good about not bringing girls back. What is awkward is when he brings back a member of his team."

Daphne blanched, "You know about that? Neville said you were out."

"I'd had a back shift at work," Harry said in amusement, "And I was attempting to get some sleep. Not that I could sleep through _that_ mind you, it was bloody loud."

Daphne's flustered look disappeared with her laughter, "Well that's awkward. Wait, are you going to report that? Because team members aren't supposed to sleep together and-"

Harry shook his head, "Don't worry about it, it happens. It's against the rules but we can't stop it happening, like I said to Draco when he asked me what to do about you two," He smirked, "Unless someone gets hurt or killed because of personal attachments they don't matter. If that does happen, then we have to take it into account in our report."

"So in other words, don't let it interfere with our job," Daphne said thoughtfully.

Harry nodded, "Exactly, and I think you're both professional enough to do that."

"Well if you're professional enough to work with me for years without letting on that you're bloody gay, I'm sure Longbottom and I can keep things professional," Daphne said in amusement.

"Yeah, on that note, don't tell anyone," Harry added, "Not that I think you would, it's just that…well I'm an Auror. I've got a reputation to protect."

"I know," Daphne said simply, "Don't worry Harry, my lips are sealed."

* * *

"How was your _ride_ along with Potter last night?" Theo asked Daphne when she walked in the following morning.

"Yeah, did you have _fun?_ " Eddie wiggled his eyebrows.

"We did have fun, thank you for asking Eddie," Daphne said matter of factly. She sat down at her desk and shot Draco a grin, "Nice work yesterday, right?"

Draco hummed in agreement.

"He's been quiet and grumpy all morning, just ignore him," Neville said in amusement, "We've got a ton of bail skippers to catch by the end of the week."

"And we better get it done, I can't work over the weekend. It's my nephew's 7th birthday party on Saturday. So get a move on, all of you!" Draco snapped.

"This is going to be a fun morning," Daphne muttered as she pulled the huge file of paperwork towards her with a heavy sigh.

* * *

"Right you lot! Listen up!"

The office went silent at Harry Potters command. It was Friday and apart from the little bit of fun Daphne and Draco had gotten at the start of the week, it had been uneventful. The Auror was standing in the doorway, as he often did, with a box of doughnuts balancing on a brown file.

"I brought you lunch," Harry said, walking further into the office and dumping the box on Draco's desk. He opened it, and they both grabbed pink iced doughnuts, at the exact same time.

Daphne snorted in amusement and shoved a chocolate doughnut in her mouth, "What's the case boss?"

"Nothing exciting unfortunately," Harry said, dropping the file onto Draco's lap.

"Oi!" Draco objected through a mouthful of doughnut.

Harry smirked and took a bite of his own, "So it's just a bail skipper but he's done it three times and I can't be bothered with him anymore so you'll have to track him down and bring him in. Shouldn't take you too long at all."

"And what are you doing?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Going shopping for Teddy's birthday present," Harry answered honestly as he reached the door, he grinned at them, "Have fun!" He called as he left.

"I still hate him," Draco muttered as he finished off his doughnut and opened the file, "Faydar Sloolip. Is he serious?"

"That's the guy's name?" Theo asked as he stood behind Draco and looked at the file.

"Looks like it," Daphne snorted, "Have you read the rest of it? Muggle-born…34 years of age…holy mother of Merlin, look at his crimes!"

Draco shook his head in disbelief, "Skipped his bail hearing for, two counts of indecent exposure in Diagon Alley."

Eddie sniggered, and Draco continued, "The second hearing he skipped was for, attempted bestiality with a Thestral."

Neville choked on his doughnut, " _What?"_

"Hang on, it gets better," Theo grinned, "The last one he skipped was for, an attempt to cause a riot in the mental health ward of St. Mungo's."

"Potter is a fucking arse. He's only handed this one over to us because the guy is bloody head case," Draco said irritably, "Does he think we're his skivvies or something"

"Huh?"

"Servants," Neville said in amusement, "And I hate to tell you this Draco, but we basically are. We're Class III Aurors, and this lot aren't Aurors at all. We get the petty crime, the stupid cases and the general shit that nobody else wants to deal with. You'll have to put up with it or try harder to get promoted."

"I'm quite happy down here, thanks Longbottom," Draco said dryly as he got to his feet, "Come on then, we better find this bloody lunatic. The file says his last known location was Muggle Cardiff so he shouldn't be too hard to find."

"A madman in Cardiff?" Daphne snorted, "You sure about that?"

* * *

"This is a wild goose chase," Theo whined, "We checked every single bloody bar in sight."

"Well maybe the file is wrong," Draco yawned, "There's another thing written down. It looks like it says, zoo, but Potters handwriting is appalling so…"

He handed the file to Neville who squinted at the writing, "It says zoo. I'm guessing that means Cardiff zoo?"

"I would assume so," Draco frowned, "This is one weird fucking criminal."

"Well he likes Thestrals so…" Daphne said, letting that hang in the air as the others looked disgusted. They traipsed through the April showers to Cardiff zoo and after another wild goose chase, they eventually found something.

"There's anti-Muggle charms on that room," Neville said, he stopped in his tracks and looked at a door.

"How d'you know that?" Eddie asked quickly.

"I can feel the magic," Neville said, "Trust me, there are."

Theo narrowed his eyes at Neville but ran a diagnostics charm, "He's right, there are," He told Draco grudgingly.

"Come on then," Draco said, and he led the way into the room which turned out to basically be a small cupboard. It was empty, apart from a large sign on the wall, written in Harry's very messy and very familiar handwriting.

"APRIL FOOLS!"

"Oh that fucking arse!" Draco exclaimed.

Neville grinned broadly, "I knew, I'm sorry but I knew from the start. It's a thing we do to the new recruits every April fools, I wasn't ruining it."

"You are as much of a prick as he is then," Daphne said irritably.

"I can't believe we fell for that," Theo said in disbelief, "I mean the name Faydar Sloolip is even an anagram of April Fool's Day."

"Shit," Eddie breathed, "How did we not figure that one out?"

"It had Potter all over it," Draco muttered as they left the small room, "Bloody bestiality with Thestrals. He thinks he's hilarious, doesn't he?"

"It was pretty funny," Neville grinned.

"Oh come on, lighten up Draco," Daphne laughed, "It was just a bit of fun."

"Bit of fun," Draco shook his head, "I'll meet you all back at the basement," He said, slinking into an alley and disappearing from view.

* * *

"What is _his_ problem?" Neville whispered to Theo as they walked down the stairs into the basement.

"He doesn't like being made a fool out of or embarrassed," Theo answered, "His Father did that to him."

"It was only a laugh," Neville frowned, "Can't he take a joke?"

Theo shrugged, "Sometimes, it depends on the joke," He said simply as they entered the basement and their conversation came to a stop.

"Right, back to work all of you!" Draco barked as he sat down heavily at his desk.

Neville's frown deepened as he walked over to the blonde's desk, "Draco, Harry was just having a laugh, he didn't mean anything by it-"

"I said, back to work Longbottom!" Draco snapped.

Neville sighed, but sat down at his desk anyway. Behind him Eddie and Theo were teasing Daphne in whispers.

"Potter clearly went to all of that effort to woo you Daphne."

"All of that just to impress you. Are you sure you didn't sleep with him?"

"I think he certainly wants to sleep with you."

"Would you both shut up?"

"Enough!" Draco snapped, turning to look at them all, "We have work to do, I have a headache and I do not need to listen to you three gossiping! I will not say it again, get back to work!"

The office fell into silence, and Draco sighed, either with relief or irritation, as he turned around and tried to busy himself with his work.

* * *

 _Knock. Knock._

"If that's one of you lot with a case, you can hold onto it until I've finished my lunch!"

"It's Neville."

"Ah, alright then Nev. Come in."

Neville walked into Harry's office in amusement and shut the door behind him, "Tough day?"

"Awkward case," Harry shrugged, "It's at the trial phase. I hate trials, I hate lawyers, I-"

"You hate politics, yes I know," Neville chuckled, "I came here to warn you."

"Warn me?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow, "Warn me about what?"

"Malfoy," Neville said, "He's really pissed off about this April Fools prank. He's got us on desk duty in complete silence. He went mental at Daphne when she left to get coffee earlier."

Harry frowned, "He's really that angry about it?"

Neville nodded.

"But it was just a joke. Didn't he find it funny?" Harry asked, sounding incredibly confused.

Neville shook his head, "According to Theo, Draco hates to be humiliated. His Father used to humiliate him, so it's sort of a sore spot."

"Shit," Harry muttered, "Ah…shit…I didn't think of it like that…shit."

"It's not your fault Harry," Neville assured him, "You weren't to know. I suppose I just came here to remind you that you don't know Draco that well yet. You've only been working with him for a few months, you don't know everything about him."

Harry narrowed his eyes at his friend, "And you do? What are you saying Neville? That you know him better than me?"

"No," Neville frowned, "And you sound _jealous_ , Harry."

"Jealous?" Harry asked in disbelief, "I'm not jealous!"

The door snapped open, and Hermione joined them, "Why are you jealous?" She asked casually as she sat down next to Neville.

"He's not, apparently," Neville said, a smile playing on his lips.

"I'm _not_ jealous about your friendship with Draco Malfoy," Harry said firmly.

Hermione snorted, "Explain Neville."

Neville laughed, "Harry played a prank on the team, an Aprils Fools joke. Draco feels embarrassed and humiliated so he's shouting at everyone. Mind you Harry, the others think that you did it because you fancy Daphne and they keep teasing her about it."

"Maybe that's why Draco's in a bad mood," Hermione said as she bit into a raw carrot, "Maybe he likes you Harry, maybe he's jealous."

Harry scoffed, "Draco Malfoy is the straightest guy around. You two are delusional and besides he's just my friend. And I'm not jealous," He added as the door opened with a snap.

"Who's jealous?" Draco's voice asked and they all looked up in surprise. Malfoy was leaning against the doorway, looking bemused.

"Harry," Hermione compromised, "Because he-"

"He found out Ron went on a date with one of his exes," Neville jumped in before Hermione could come up with a ridiculous lie.

"Well he's the one with your sloppy seconds Potter," Draco drawled, "Here are those bail skipper files. That's them back-dated, like you asked."

"Right, thanks Malfoy," Harry said, "And sorry about the prank earlier-"

"It's fine," Draco said quickly, "Although your idea of humour is appalling. Bestiality with Thestrals, really?"

"What?" Hermione barked.

"Potter's idea of a laugh," Draco said with a raised eyebrow, "See you around Potter."

"Yeah, see you around Malfoy," Harry agreed as the blonde shut the door with a snap and walked away.

"Bestiality with Thestrals?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"It was what I said the fake criminal had done, that along with indecent exposure, and an attempt to cause a riot in the mental health ward of St. Mungo's," Harry told his best friend sheepishly.

"Harry, have you no morals?" Hermione asked.

"You can't have morals to be an Auror," Neville chuckled.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

"Besides, your moral compass is falling apart," Harry said with a pointed look, "You are _dating_ Theodore Nott."

"And _you_ want to screw Draco Malfoy," Hermione countered.

"He's my friend, I do not want to screw him!" Harry exclaimed.

"Really?" Hermione asked, "Because you just flirted with him, right here, in front of us."

"No I didn't!" Harry exclaimed in exasperation, "We were just _talking_."

Hermione shook her head, "All that sexual tension from Hogwarts is still there. Isn't it Neville?"

"Definitely, Hermione," Neville replied calmly.

"I have the worst friends in the world," Harry groaned as he let his head drop onto his desk with a thump, "I just wanted to have my lunch in peace!"

* * *

When Harry walked into the basement just after 6pm, everyone was still working away at their desks.

"Oh come on Malfoy, don't you think you're working them a bit hard for a Friday night?"

Draco looked up, "What do you want, Potter?"

"I brought pizza, butterbeer, and firewhiskey," Harry said as he waved his wand and conjured the food and drink from wherever it had been stored.

Without even waiting for permission from Draco, the others all got up and went to the sofas where they grabbed a drink, and a slice of pizza. Harry walked over to the solitary blonde.

"Look, I'm sorry if the prank offended you Draco-"

"I'm not offended, Potter," Draco cut him off, "It was irritating because it was a waste of our time and resources but I'm not offended."

"Good, I thought maybe that was why you had been torturing this lot all day," Harry said.

Draco shook his head, "The work spilled over into Saturday for the last few weeks, and I don't want to miss Teddy's birthday tomorrow."

"Of course," Harry said with a nod, "Well it's just paperwork. It can wait until Monday, come on, eat and have a drink."

"You're such a Hufflepuff sometimes," Draco muttered, "Eat and be merry and all that. And seriously, bestiality with a Thestral, where the fuck did that come from?"

"I don't know," Harry admitted sheepishly as they joined the rest of the group, "It was the first thing that I could think of. Anyway, it was _attempted_ bestiality with a Thestral, remember?"

"And I still think it's pretty sick," Hermione said as she emerged at the foot of the stairs and sat down heavily next to Theo on the armchair that had appeared in the basement a couple of weeks ago. They were gradually acquiring more and more furniture.

"Where is all of this furniture coming from?" She asked as an after-thought as Theo handed her a beer.

"Uh, charity shops," Theo said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, "Theo."

Eddie sniggered.

"I…acquired it, Hermione."

"How did you _acquire_ it, Theo?" Hermione asked firmly.

"Well," Theo said, he cleared his throat, "When people die they don't need their furniture, do they?"

"You stole this from a dead person?" Hermione shrieked.

Draco grinned, "And you still go on about how you feel guilty about dancing with me in that club in Knockturn Alley? I mean do you remember when you got up on the table and-"

"Shut up Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed, her cheeks flushing.

"Do you still drink firewhiskey, Hermione?" Harry asked curiously.

Hermione fixed him with a cold glare, "No, I don't, and you keep your bloody mouth shut."

"Just stick to the butterbeer till we get back to the flat," Theo muttered.

"No way," Eddie snorted, "I'm bringing a girl home tonight. It's my turn, you two have been at it every bloody night for weeks!"

"Ugh, too much information about Hermione's sex life!" Harry exclaimed.

Draco shook his head in amusement and grabbed a slice of pizza, "Can we talk about murder or something instead?"

"You bloody Auror lot," Hermione said in disbelief, "You're so morbid."

"Comes with the territory, love," Theo drawled.

"Okay first of all, don't call me love," Hermione said in amusement, "And secondly, are you channeling Malfoy or something?"

Draco grinned, and asked, "I've got a better question. Are you two a thing? Because I have never seen Theodore Nott hold down a girl for this long."

"I don't know," Hermione said with a pointed look at Theo, "Are we a thing?"

"You're definitely a thing," Theo muttered, and he got smacked around the head for it.

"Yes, they're a thing," Daphne laughed, and the others joined in with her laughter.

As the night wore on, their number was gradually whittled down. Theo and Hermione left, together. Then Eddie went out 'fishing'. Neville and Daphne had been the last to leave, 5 minutes apart from each other like they thought they were being subtle. This left Harry and Draco alone in the basement with half a bottle of firewhiskey left. It didn't take long for them to finish it off, and since neither of them had slept much in the last few days the alcohol went straight to their heads.

"So, why didn't you just screw Daphne and be done with it?" Draco asked curiously as he squinted at Harry, "I mean she's off fucking Longbottom now. You've missed your chance."

"Daphne?" Harry asked in surprise, "Why would I want to screw Daphne? She's a woman."

"What?"

Harry realised what he had just said, "What?"

"What did you just say?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"Uh, nothing," Harry frowned.

"Fucking hell Potter, are you _gay_?" Draco asked loudly.

"Shit," Harry muttered, more to himself than Draco, "I forgot you didn't know that…I mean, what, no. No, of course not!"

"Holy Salazar, you are wrecked," Draco said with a loud laugh.

"Oh and you're sober Malfoy?" Harry retorted.

"I'm more sober than you," Draco snorted, "But seriously, that was a well-kept secret."

"Was it?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'd never have guessed it," Draco said, "I mean, you don't look like a typical gay guy."

Harry raised an eyebrow at him, "That's probably because gay people just look like people?"

"Yeah, I know," Draco said offhandedly, "But some gay guys look gay, you know? You just look like a normal guy, with your leather jackets and cigarettes and stuff…"

"Again with the gay people are normal people thing," Harry said, he sounded a little exasperated but more amused at the way Draco was handling the situation.

Draco hummed thoughtfully, "I want a cigarette."

"Me too," Harry laughed, "Come on."

"Why don't you just smoke in here?" Draco asked curiously as they sauntered upstairs together after Draco had hung up his Auror robes.

"Because the smoke charms would pick it up and the sprinklers would go off," Harry said in amusement, "And I don't think Susan would be chuffed."

"No, I don't imagine she would be," Draco agreed as they snuck out onto the terrace and shut the door behind them.

The fresh air sobered them both up a little as they sank down into the wooden chairs and lit up cigarettes.

"I'm going to start charging you for these, you go through so many of mine," Harry said in amusement.

"Buy me them in your Muggle money and I'll give you normal money for them," Draco said as he blew out a ring smoke, "They're far more addictive than cigars."

"Yeah, that's why they're so bad for you," Harry sighed.

"Everything is bad for you in this bloody life," Draco muttered, "But back to the subject. Are you properly gay or just like a normal pureblood?"

Harry frowned, "A normal pureblood?"

Draco looked at him in amusement, "You know, dabbling in all waters?"

Harry was silent.

"Merlin, Potter. Do I have to be blunt?" Draco asked, exasperation making its way into his voice, "Do you only like to fuck men or can you happily screw women too?"

Harry cleared his throat, "I can sleep with women, yeah. I do enjoy it sometimes. I just prefer sleeping with men."

Draco nodded thoughtfully, "You sound like a normal pureblood then."

"I'm normal?" Harry asked in surprise, "I've spent years feeling like a freak."

"Maybe in the Muggle world it's that way," Draco said, "But not here. Not with purebloods anyway, we all marry because we have to produce heirs. But once you've produced an heir, you can do whatever the hell you want," He blew out a ring of smoke, "I mean the women have to be careful not to get pregnant during their affairs or they'll be thrown from grace…and the men have to be careful not to get caught in the act…but everyone knows it happens they just don't talk about it."

"Seriously?"

Draco nodded and turned his head slightly, "Yes, look at my Father for example. He must have slept with my Mother at least once to produce me, but after that I lost count of how many lovers he had, male and female."

Harry's face wrinkled up, "I didn't need to know that, Malfoy."

"And then there was my Mother and my Godfather…" Draco mused thoughtfully.

"You're Mother screwed Snape?" Harry asked, beyond the point of disgust now.

"Yeah, for quite a few years. I think there were probably feelings involved actually," Draco said simply.

"I'm surprised, she's not a natural redhead, is she?"

Draco frowned, "What are you on about, Potter?"

"Snape loved my Mum, apparently," Harry shrugged, "Before he died he showed me his memories…they met as kids and he fell in love with her but then he called her a mudblood so she told him to fuck off, I'm paraphrasing by the way. Then she fell in love with my Father, they got married, she had me…then he had to teach me for years and look into my green eyes, the same eyes that my Mother had…just your everyday tragic back story, you know?"

"That's quite fucked up."

"Tell me about it," Harry muttered, "And before you say it, no Snape could not be my Father. James Potter is definitely my Father."

"I wasn't going to say it, you look like your Father too much," Draco said, "No glamour charm could fake that."

Harry hummed thoughtfully and shut his eyes as he threw his cigarette over the railing, "Well, I'm glad we had this chat Malfoy. I feel a lot less…"

"Abnormal?"

"I don't know about that," Harry grinned.

Draco laughed and said, "Well you're from a pureblood family, even if you are a half-blood. So yes, I'd say you're pretty normal," He threw his own cigarette over the railing and got to his feet, "I better head home and try to sober up a bit. I'll see you tomorrow."

Harry frowned, "Oh yeah, at Teddy's party," He remembered.

Draco nodded, and smiled slightly at Harry as he walked towards the door, "Night Potter."

"Night Malfoy," Harry said with an absentminded wave.

When Malfoy was gone he turned back towards the night sky, and then frowned. What Malfoy had said had made him feel better. But if dabbling in all waters was something that was normal for purebloods then…wait a minute…Malfoy was a pureblood…did that mean…had Malfoy just accidentally admitted that he was bisexual?

"Bloody hell!"

"What are you swearing about?"

Harry jumped when a tall redhead walked out onto the terrace. She was dressed professionally in a black skirt with a white blouse and killer high heels.

"What are you doing here?"

"I picked up more bad habits from our relationship than I'd care to admit," Susan Bones admitted as she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lit one up.

Harry chuckled and leant against the railing, lighting up another cigarette. Susan joined him, and he glanced sideways at her.

"Suse. Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"When we were dating, did you know that I was…that I was kind of gay?" Harry asked his ex curiously.

Susan raised an amused eyebrow at him, "Harry with some of the things that you asked me to do when we were having sex… _of course_ I knew. Have you just worked it out?"

"No, not really," Harry said in amusement, "I mean, I've known for a while. But it still confuses me, I mean I dated you for 2 years and it was some of the best sex I've ever had…but I couldn't enjoy it with Ginny, and I can't bring myself to sleep with Daphne."

"Yet, you slept with Hermione during the war and enjoyed it," Susan pointed out, "It's not the act Harry, it's the person you're doing it with. You were forcing yourself to be with Ginny because it was what you thought you wanted."

"It was never what I wanted," Harry admitted, "It was what everyone else wanted."

"I know that," Susan smiled, "And as for Daphne, well I can't help you out on that one."

"Don't get me wrong, she's gorgeous," Harry said thoughtfully, "It's not that I don't get turned on by her, I just can't bring myself to sleep with her. Maybe I just can't get over the fact that the first time I met her she was a criminal who had just killed her boyfriend…or that her sister tried to kill me."

"That would make a degree of sense," Susan laughed, "What's causing this crisis of conscience?"

"Ah, just something Malfoy said. Apparently it's normal, for purebloods to dabble in all waters, as he put it," Harry said honestly.

"It's pretty normal," Susan agreed, "I'd have told you that if you had asked me."

"I'm sorry I didn't and I'm sorry that we broke up," Harry said abruptly as he turned his head to her.

"Why are you sorry?" Susan asked in amusement, "Because you've been drinking? It was mutual Harry, and we both ended up better for it. When we broke up you were a Class III Auror and I was a Junior Juror. Now you're a Class I Auror with a star for exemplary service, and I'm the AHD of the DMLE. We were both so career driven, it would never have worked."

"Not to mention the fact I was confused out of my mind," Harry added in amusement.

"You should have just talked to me about it," Susan said, "I can't bear the thought of you thinking you were a freak for years."

"Don't worry about it Suse. I grew up thinking I was a freak, I'm used to it," Harry said honestly, "But I really am sorry it broke off. Do you know…I've not slept with a woman since you…I doubt anyone could measure up."

Susan grinned, "I'm that good, am I?"

Harry returned her grin, "You know you were. So, are you single at the moment?"

"Yes," Susan said in amusement, "Are you?"

"Yep," Harry said as he let his second cigarette drop down into the darkness.

Susan blew out a ring of smoke and did the same. She caught Harry's eye, and in seconds Harry had moved across the balcony to kiss her. They both tasted like cigarette smoke, and Harry tasted like firewhiskey, but he always had and the combination flashed Susan back to their sweat soaked nights. She kissed him back, and she moaned as he pressed her against the cold, railing.

"If you want to take this any further we better go to the apparition point," Susan gasped, "I am not fucking you here. My boss would kill me if he found out."

"Always so bloody career driven," Harry grinned as he pulled his wand from his pocket.

Susan narrowed her eyes at him, "What are you doing?"

"I designed these wards, I know the loopholes," Harry whispered.

It only took a few swishes of his wand, and the wards dropped momentarily. He held her tightly and spun on his heel and they arrived in the drawing room of Grimmauld Place with a loud crack. This was where Harry and Neville lived. It had been fixed up now and it was actually a really nice house. Susan knew it well of course, she had visited frequently when they had been together.

"Bedroom," Harry said simply as he took the redheads hand and led her upstairs. She knew the way, but she didn't stop him. Harry couldn't help but smirk when he saw a piece of red cloth on Neville's door across the hallway from Harry's room.

Susan laughed at the sounds coming from the room as Harry pulled her into his own bedroom and put a piece of red cloth on _his_ door.

"Suse, do me a favour," Harry said as he pushed her against the closed door with ease.

"Depends what you want," Susan mumbled against his lips.

"Be as fucking loud as you can," Harry muttered as he unbuttoned her blouse, "Nev has been having the loudest fucking sex _ever_ and I think it's time we got our payback."

Susan grinned, "That I can do."

 **TBC :)  
**


	9. Like Father, Like Godson

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 9 - Like Father, Like Godson  
**

When Harry walked into the kitchen the morning after his escapades with his ex-girlfriend, Neville, and Daphne were already sitting at the table.

Neville raised an eyebrow at Harry, "So, you had fun last night."

"So did you by the sounds of it," Harry retorted.

"Who did you bring home last night?" Neville asked curiously, "Because it sounded like a woman."

"It was a woman," Harry said in amusement, "The first woman in years in fact."

"I thought you said were gay, Potter," Daphne pointed out.

"I don't know what I am," Harry admitted as he grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl, "I thought I was. But clearly I still enjoy sleeping with women."

"Clearly," Neville said, "Whoever it was, was loud as hell."

"Susan," Harry said calmly.

"Susan Bones?" Neville asked in disbelief, "Your ex-girlfriend Susan Bones?"

Harry nodded, "What's wrong with that?"

"I didn't even realise you still had feelings for each other," Neville said.

"We don't," Harry said, "I think we both just needed to let off some steam. It was the weirdest thing, she came out to the terrace for a cigarette last night and we just sort of crashed together…I haven't slept with a women since we broke up 3 years ago."

"Woah, you went that long without sex?" Daphne asked in disbelief.

"Without sex with a woman," Harry corrected her, "And she's not here by the way, in case you were wondering. She had to go to work."

Neville watched Harry with interest, "So, it's not a thing?"

"Nah just a one night stand," Harry said as he finished his orange and threw the peelings out of the window for his pet Nargles to eat, "I've got to get over to Andy's place for Ted's birthday. Feed the Nargles for me Nev, see you later."

He patted Neville on the shoulder and left.

Daphne frowned, "Did he say Nargles?"

"Uh yeah," Neville said, pulling himself from his thoughts, "They're real, Luna proved it a few years ago. How come he was gay for Draco Malfoy yesterday and now bubbly and bright and fucking glowing from screwing Susan Bones today?"

"It's called bisexual, you need to be more open minded," Daphne grinned, "And I _knew_ he had a thing for Draco! Since I found out he liked guys I _knew_."

"Speaking of things," Neville said thoughtfully as he turned to Daphne, "Is _this_ a thing?"

Daphne frowned, "Do you want it to be a thing?"

"I'd quite like it to be a thing. Do you want it to be a thing?" Neville asked awkwardly.

"Kind of," Daphne admitted sheepishly, "I've never had this before…it's all quite new and scary."

Neville chuckled and sat down next to her, "I've got a question for you before we decide if this is a thing or not."

"Okay…" Daphne said cautiously.

"Are you going to kill me?" Neville asked, putting on his best sincere expression.

Daphne grinned and punched him in the arm, "Fuck you Longbottom!"

* * *

As Harry walked up the garden path towards Andromeda's house there was a loud crack behind him and Draco fell into step with him.

"Potter."

"Morning Draco," Harry said brightly.

Draco raised an eyebrow at the dark-haired man, "You're way too happy this morning. Did you get laid last night?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Harry said.

"Jeez, you're practically skipping," Draco snorted, "Who's the lucky guy?"

"Girl, actually," Harry said.

Draco frowned, "But you were just telling me last night-"

"I know," Harry cut in, "It was actually thanks to you that I worked it out Malfoy. Don't get me wrong, I prefer men, but I met up with my ex last night and we both needed to let off some steam."

"Right," Draco frowned, "Well, uh…congratulations on working yourself out?"

Harry snorted as he placed his hand on the door for entry, "Congratulations?"

"I couldn't work out what to say," Draco admitted as the door swung open and a small blue-haired boy ran at them.

"UNCLE DRACO!"

Draco laughed as the blur of blue jumped at him. He picked the little boy up with ease, "Hey Ted!" he said cheerfully as he ruffled his hair which temporarily turned blonde.

Harry scoffed but he was smiling, "Who am I Teddy, just some stranger?"

Teddy frowned at Harry, who swung a broom shaped present over his shoulder, "I guess I'll just take this back to the shop then..." He said as he began to walk away.

Draco chuckled and put Teddy down, and the blue haired boy ran at Harry and attached himself to his leg, "No, please don't Uncle Harry!"

Harry grinned and picked him up, "Hey Teddy. How are you?"

"I'm good Uncle Harry," Teddy grinned, "I didn't know you and Uncle Draco were friends! He told me it was a secret when he came to visit. He said you would beat him up and put him in Azkaban if you knew he visited me!"

Harry looked at Draco in disbelief, "Did he?"

Teddy nodded excitedly, "He did say that, didn't you Uncle Draco?"

"I did say that," Draco admitted, "But that was before your Godfather and I were friends."

"How are you friends?" Teddy asked eagerly.

"We work together now Ted," Draco said as the three of them walked into the house together.

"Oh!" Teddy shouted, "Are you a Ministry guard too now Uncle Draco?"

Draco looked at Harry in amusement, "Uh yes," He replied when Harry gave him a small nod.

"I thought you said you were a very important antiques collector," Teddy said, cocking his head at the two men.

"Well he doesn't do that anymore Teddy," Harry said, "Go on through to the garden where your friends are. Draco and I are just coming."

"Okay, see you!" Teddy said as he motored through the house.

"You told him you collected antiques?" Harry asked him in disbelief, "You ran a Black Market!"

"How do you explain that to a 6 year old?" Draco retorted, "And you can't talk! You told him you were a Ministry guard!"

"Fair play," Harry said, actually sharing an amused smile with Draco as they walked towards the garden.

There were only a few other children here including Victoire, Bill and Fleur's eldest daughter and Teddy's best friend and a few other children he knew through Andromeda's friends. It was just a little tea party in the garden and it wasn't raining for once.

"Hey," Andromeda smiled, "I never thought I would see you two walk through my front door together."

Draco chuckled, "Well he's my boss now."

Andromeda's smile widened, "I heard," She said with a glance at Harry, "Your Mother would have been so proud Draco. She only ever wanted you to become a good man."

Harry smiled slightly, "Well he's certainly a good man. Where'd the little guy go?"

Andromeda frowned, "I thought he ran to the door to meet you?"

"He did, but we told him we'd meet him in the garden," Draco said slowly.

"He didn't come back out here," Andromeda said, her frown deepening.

Panic began to set in and Harry ran back into the house shouting, "Teddy! Teddy! TEDDY!"

There was silence, and a diagnostics charm showed that he, Draco and Andromeda were the only people in the house. Suffice to say, they were all panicked now as they ran around the garden searching for the little boy but they found no sign of him. Harry and Draco decided to search the house properly and that was when they found it…

The window in the drawing room was open and the breeze was blowing the curtains around wildly. A note was pinned to the wall, and it had almost blown away when Harry and Draco got to it. Their hearts sank at the words written on that note.

" _I have your Godson Harry Potter. If you want to see him alive again you will do exactly as I say. I will floo you on an encrypted channel in 20 minutes. No Aurors, just you and his Grandmother."_

Harry glanced at his watch, "It's been about 15 minutes since he was taken," He said as his eyes flicked nervously towards the fireplace.

"We have to call in the others, the team-" Draco began.

"It says no Aurors Malfoy!" Harry snapped, "Do you know what that means? It means if there are Aurors, they kill him!"

"Kill him?" Andromeda asked weakly.

"He'll be fine Andy," Draco said gently. He glared at Harry and crossed the room and explained in whispers to Andromeda.

She clutched her chest and sat down heavily on an armchair by the fire. Draco stood behind her as the fireplace roared to life. There was no face, only a voice, and it was clear that a muffling charm had been used on it because it was deep and crackly, to hide the real persons voice.

"Who is with you Potter?"

"Just me, Teddy's Grandmother and his Uncle, Draco Malfoy. We were the ones who found the note," Harry replied, he was trying to remain calm but it was proving difficult.

"Will you give me what I want in exchange for your Godson?"

"What do you want?" Harry asked roughly.

"You Harry. The deal is as simple as that. I want you to pay for what you did to my family. If you meet me at the rendezvous point that I have arranged, I will give this child to his Grandmother and I will take you in return."

"I want proof that you have Teddy first," Harry said firmly.

The crackly voice laughed, and seconds later Teddy's terrified face appeared in the fire.

"Proof enough?"

Harry's face paled, "When and where do you want to rendezvous?"

"Harry," Draco hissed, "He'll kill you!"

"And if I don't exchange myself he'll kill Teddy," Harry said harshly, "Enough people have died for me, Draco."

The crackly voice laughed again, "Excellent choice. Richmond Park at 3pm. If I see any Aurors, I kill your Godson. If I see any Muggle law enforcement, I kill your Godson. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Harry said weakly.

The fire crackled out, and Draco turned to Harry angrily, "You can't just walk into this on your own Potter! We have two teams who will be willing to help us, we have to let them!"

"We can't!" Harry shouted, "You heard what they said! They will kill him if they see Aurors! I've been an Auror for far longer than you have and I have seen people like this kill children because the parents have been stupid enough to think they could outsmart them!"

"We aren't average parents, Harry," Draco said as he walked towards Harry, "We're Aurors! And our teams are bloody good, they can get in here without them knowing! They will find a way in that doesn't involve the floo or coming in the front door!"

"We aren't his parents, Malfoy," Harry said coolly, "He doesn't have parents. They died, because of me, they died fighting for me! So maybe it's fitting that I die for their son!"

Draco shook his head and punched Harry in the face, and Andromeda screamed.

"You can't do this on your own, it's a fucking suicide mission!"

"And since when did you care whether I lived or died, Malfoy?" Harry asked coldly.

Draco grabbed Harry's shoulders, "You are being a heroic fucking idiot, Potter!" He hissed, "You said it yourself, when were at school we got in each other's faces a lot. Do you want to know why we did that? It was because we both knew that it was the best way to get through to each other, to intimidate each other, to annoy each other. It's also the best way to convince you that you are a fucking idiot. We need our team, we _need_ our friends."

With Draco's face inches away from Harry's, the dark-haired man couldn't help but meet Draco's eyes where a fire was burning. He gave a miniscule nod, and said, "Okay."

Draco sighed in relief and pulled Harry into an unexpected hug, "Sorry for punching you," He muttered as he pulled away.

"It's okay, I deserved it," Harry mumbled as he tapped his communications bracelet in a specific pattern. 9 taps, a pause, 1 tap, a pause, and 1 more tap. It was the emergency communication and it connected his bracelet to that of the Assistant Head of the DMLE, the Head Auror, which was currently him, his entire team, and Draco's entire team.

"My Godson has been kidnapped," Harry said, "I want to keep this on the down low because if the kidnapper finds out that Aurors are involved he will kill him. Susan, do not pass this information onto the Head of Department and do not order any appeals. Just be aware of the situation. As for my team and Malfoy's team, we need as many of you here at Andromeda's home as possible. Daphne knows where it is, meet in the Ministry and apparate here, there is a secret room in the basement which is outside the wards of the house. You will be able to apparate into it. When you get here approach the drawing room with caution, the kidnappers cannot know you are here."

He pressed the bracelet to end the communication and caught Draco's eye once more.

"There isn't a secret room in my basement," Andromeda said slowly.

"Yes there is," Harry sighed, "I installed it when you said you wanted custody of Teddy. I was paranoid and I'm glad I was because otherwise even if the team had wanted to help they wouldn't have been able to get in here."

"You installed a secret room in my house and did not tell me about it?" Andromeda asked quietly.

"For _your_ Grandsons safety!" Harry snapped.

"Harry, we will _discussing_ this once this is all over," Andromeda said darkly.

"Yes, Andy," Harry said offhandedly.

"That's _Andromeda_ to you."

Draco sighed, "Stop it, fighting isn't going to help us get Teddy back any sooner, is it?"

"Draco Malfoy, the voice of reason," Harry said bitterly, "I never thought I'd see that happen."

"Stop being bitter," Draco snapped as he began to pace the room, "We need a plan, Potter. Now, Theo is my diagnostics guy. He can break wards, so surely he can break the encryption on that floo call…"

"The kidnapper would have to call again for him to be able to do that," Harry said dryly, "And he won't."

"Then we can put people in disguise when you go to meet the guy. They can hand Teddy over to Andromeda, and then stun him and save you."

"It isn't that easy Malfoy," Harry said as they heard footsteps on the staircase, "The second Teddy has been handed over he'll put a proximity charm on me."

"So that we can't get you back, unless he lifts it," Draco muttered.

"If you kill him, you'll never lift it," Harry said, "And if you don't kill him, you'll never convince him to lift it."

"We will if we torture him," Draco pointed out.

"We're Aurors, we don't torture people," Harry said weakly.

" _You're_ an Auror, we're a team who do whatever it takes to get the right thing done and I _will_ torture him if it means saving you," Draco said, a storm brewing in his grey eyes.

Harry smiled slightly, "As comforting as that is, we can't do that. But I appreciate the thought."

Draco opened his mouth to say that he would do it, regardless of whether Harry said he could or couldn't, but at that point the door opened and their two teams piled into the large drawing room.

"What's happened?" Neville asked, surprisingly taking the lead amongst the two groups.

"Teddy was kidnapped," Draco said as he placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, "Potter is blaming himself and trying to go on a suicide mission to save him."

"Sounds like you," Neville said darkly, "What are you wanting to kill yourself for this time? Your life is actually looking pretty decent."

"I don't want to kill myself Neville," Harry said as he glared at his friend, "The kidnappers want me. They said they will hand Teddy over to Andromeda in return for me."

"So you think you're just going to walk in there and die?" Ron asked in disbelief, "You really are bloody delusional mate."

"There's no way we're going to let you die, Harry," Daphne agreed, "We'll find a way to get Teddy back, without you dying."

Theo nodded, "Did the kidnappers contact you via floo?"

Harry nodded, quite overwhelmed by the support of his friends, and still aware of Draco's warm hand resting on his shoulder.

"Perfect," Theo said, "Right Ed. You're in the chimney."

Eddie rolled his eyes, "I'm always in the chimney."

"I'm better at the encryption spells," Theo said in amusement, "Get on the roof and get in the chimney then talk to me over the comms."

"Will do," Eddie said as he stepped out of the window and began to scale the building.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked in confusion.

"He's being his awesome bad ass self," Dana said, a little dreamily.

Harrison snapped his fingers, "Dana!"

Dana's cheeks coloured slightly, "Oh, they're trying to trace the call. If Eddie can access the magical hub in the chimney, then he can tap into the last call and hopefully Theo can break the encryption."

"Will that actually work?" Harry asked in surprise.

"If anyone can make it work Theo and Eddie can," Draco said proudly, "You let me pick my own team Potter, and I told you that I would pick wisely."

"I trust you Malfoy," Harry said honestly, "I just hope this will work."

" _I'm in Theo_.'"

"Right. When was it last cleaned out?"

" _Seems to be scheduled to be cleaned out on the hour."_

Harry's eyes snapped to the clock. It was 1.52pm.

"Alright, get a move on then Ed. We've only got about 8 minutes until it's cleaned again and then we lose the call."

" _I know, I've extracted it from the hub and put it on the backup server. Can you access it through the fireplace?"_

"Give me a minute."

Theo was now lying on his stomach in front of the crackling fire. He mumbled, and the fire roared green, "I've got it Eddie. You can get out of there now."

" _Will do."_

"Alright," Theo mumbled, "Uh, Bailey. You're the diagnostics guy, aren't you?"

Harrison nodded, "What do you need a hand with?" He asked as he lay down next to Theo.

"I need someone to hold the floo open while I try and break through the encryption on the call. You know what it's like, unconnected it normally cuts off after 5 minutes," Theo said.

Harrison pulled out his wand and muttered for a few minutes, "I've got it. I can hold it for half an hour, max then we lose the call."

"That should be enough time," Theo said quietly as he began to move his wand in circular motions and whisper incantations in Latin.

Harry shrugged Draco's hand from his shoulder and got to his feet. Pacing the room made the time pass slightly faster, but he could still hear every second tick by on the clock as Theo's whispering and mutterings got faster and more panicked.

The silence of the room was broken when Harry's communication bracelet crackled. He pressed the button to accept the call and was not surprised to hear Susan's voice.

" _Harry, it's me. I need updates, I'm acting head this week with the big boss on holiday. What is going on_?"

"Teddy has been kidnapping, Theo is trying to trace the call by breaking through the encryption," Harry said calmly, far more calmly than he felt, "If he can find out where the kidnappers are we are contemplating a sneak attack."

" _What is the alternative_?"

"The kidnappers want me Susan," Harry said simply.

" _So you intend to hand yourself over_?" She asked calmly.

"I can't see any alternative, I will not let my Godson die for me," Harry said.

" _What are the chances of Theo breaking the encryption and finding the kidnappers?"_

Draco glanced to the long haired man. Theo nodded, "Very likely, I've nearly got it."

"Did you hear that?"

" _I heard,"_ Susan's voice said, _"Alright. Plan A is that Theo finds where the call came from. You are authorized to take a team of 4 and_ _ **no more**_ _in as per the Auror guidelines for hostage situations. You enter under disillusionment charms, and you find the child by all means necessary. You are authorized to use lethal curses, do you understand?"_

Harry frowned, "No, I don't understand. Are we talking Code Red?"

" _Code Red,"_ Susan confirmed, _"We have intel that this may be an escaped Death Eater, Harry. This is a Code Red situation."_

"Understood," Harry said simply.

" _Now, Plan B. If Theo does not manage find an address we have to prioritize. As your boss I have to take the line that you, as Head Auror, are more valuable than a 7 year old child. The line of the department is that you should not sacrifice yourself for Teddy."_

"But as my friend?" Harry asked.

" _I was going to say as your ex, but friend works too. I know how much you love that little boy. And I know you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if anything happened to him. I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you Harry and I'm not going to try and change your mind. Do what you have to do."_

Harry sighed, "Thank you Susan."

" _Just…be careful, Harry,"_ Susan said softly.

Harry nodded, although he knew she couldn't see it, "I will. Potter, out."

He ended the call and realised that everybody in the room was staring at him. He sighed and gravitated towards Draco and Neville.

"That was who you slept with, last night," Draco realised.

Harry nodded, "It's not important Malfoy...Am I, or am I not going to die today?"

"You're not going to die, because I've just un-encrypted the call," Theo muttered.

"Hurry up and replay it," Harrison said, "I can only hold this open for another 3 minutes."

Theo nodded and did so. The first message played again, but the voice was no longer charmed. When it was over Harry and Neville caught each other's eye.

"Harry, was that…"

"Yes," Harry said quickly, "That was Dennis Creevey."

Ron frowned, "Colin's brother?"

Harry nodded, "Neville and I's first case…" He trailed off.

Neville sighed and cut in, "Our first case was to arrest him…he lost it after the war, after Colin died. He was hurting people and we put him in the confinement ward at St. Mungo's."

"He got out two weeks ago," Harry said quietly.

"Why would he take Teddy?" Daphne asked.

"Because he holds me responsible for his brother's death," Harry said, "And now he wants to punish me."

"Look, this might seem bad but we must have gotten an address out of it. Right?" Eddie asked.

Theo shook his head, "No, it was pinged through about 6 open floos…there is no way to trace it."

Draco groaned in frustration, "But we know it's Dennis Creevey. Can't we get an address?"

"His last known address was from before he went into St. Mungo's 4 years ago," Neville said, "There's no way of knowing where he is now."

"I'll get the files about his case from the DMLE," Dana said, and she disappeared from the room.

"Can somebody update Susan please?" Harry asked, his voice breaking.

Neville nodded, "I'll do it," He said, patting Harry on the shoulder as he walked to the far end of the room.

Harry let out a shaky breath and took his eyes away from Draco's pale face to focus on the clock. It was now 2.20pm. 40 minutes until he had to walk to his death, again.

* * *

"So what do you want us to do, Susan?"

" _What can you do, Neville?"_

"We have no address, no idea where Creevey could be…all we know is that he's going to be at Richmond Park at 3pm," Neville whispered.

" _Can you extract Teddy without injury?"_

"I don't think so. It's likely that as soon as Teddy and Harry are exchanged, a proximity charm will be placed on Harry so that if any of us get near him…"

" _Boom."_

"Exactly," Neville sighed, "He's going to walk into this Susan, knowing it's a suicide mission and you're telling me that we just have to let him?"

" _I'm not telling you, I'm ordering you,"_ Susan said firmly, _"If he lives and that boy dies Harry will not have a life. He'll drink more, he'll smoke more and he might even go further in his attempts to slowly kill himself. He'll have no life if that boy dies, so yes, I am ordering you to let him walk into that park. However, I am also ordering you to insert a tracker into Harry. And I don't mean a tracking charm, I mean a tracker, hold him down because he'll scream but it has to be done. We're working on the assumption Creevey is going to want to hurt him before he kills him, that gives you time to find him and get him out."_

"And what if he just wants to kill him?"

" _Then you say your goodbyes soon, because he's going to have to leave_ ," Susan said darkly.

"No wonder they said you'd make a good Head of Department," Neville muttered bitterly, "You're a ruthless bitch."

" _I'm doing what needs to be done Neville, I don't expect that to make me popular but somebody has to make the difficult choices. Communicate with me before Harry leaves and tell me your plan. Remember my orders, if any of you disobey them you will be fired, instantly."_

"Understood," Neville said coldly as he ended the communication and walked into the centre of the room where the team were gathered.

"Hold him down, Draco," Neville said, jerking his head in Harry's direction.

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Just do it," Harry said with a nod, "If you don't I'll writhe and it will only hurt more."

Draco frowned.

"Do it, Draco," Harry said impatiently, "Ron's not got a steady enough hand, I had scars last time. _Do it."_

Draco sighed and nodded as Harry lay on his stomach on the rug. Draco pressed his hands onto either side of Harry's back, as Neville turned to Dana.

"Dana, we need you."

Dana was nodding and searching through her bag. She had pulled out a small metal object, and she knelt on the ground next to Harry.

"Why not just put a tracking charm on him?" Daphne asked.

"Because tracking charms can be removed," Eddie said.

Dana nodded, "And this can't be removed, at least not easily," She said as she steadied her wand hand and made an incision in Harry's back. Harry hissed in pain, and Draco pressed harder to keep him steady.

"Can't you numb it?" Daphne asked.

Ron shook his head, "If she numbs it she might paralyze him."

"The tracker has to be inserted really close to his spine," Theo explained, "If there was a numbing charm Dana wouldn't be able to tell if she had hit the wrong nerve."

"This isn't even the painful part," Harry groaned, and Draco sighed as Dana widened the wound.

He kept it together well, he shouted out in agony but he didn't scream as Draco was aware he did when he was in pain like this.

"Hold him tighter Draco," Dana said quietly, and Draco could barely hear her over Harry's groans of pain.

He did and he understood why she had asked him to, because as she inserted the tiny metal object he really did scream with the pain and Draco shut his eyes tightly as once more he was taken back to the war and another drawing room filled with screams. When he snapped his eyes open Harry was breathing heavily, and sweating profusely.

"It's nearly over," Dana said soothingly as she sealed the wound with her wand.

Harry did not move, and Draco sighed, "Harry? Do you need a hand up?"

Harry nodded, "I really hate that," He said through gritted teeth. He let Draco help him onto the sofa and their eyes flashed to the clock. It was 2.40pm.

"We have to get you ready to go," Neville said quickly as he pulled a pain potion from Dana's bag and thrust it into Harry's hands.

"I'm fine," Harry muttered as he downed the potion and did a couple of glamour charms on himself to remove the signs of the trauma. His breathing had returned to normal, and he got to his feet with no help.

"What's the plan?" Harry asked as he surveyed the room.

"Susan told me that she thought the best course of action was to let things progress as Creevey wants," Neville said calmly, "You go in, we get Teddy, and you get kidnapped."

"And then we come to save you," Draco said quickly, "She better have said that because if you're telling me that we just put that tracker in him so that we could find his dead body I really will hit you Longbottom."

Neville nodded, "Yes, our brief is to try and save you. But worst case scenario…the tracker is so that we can find your body and give you a proper funeral."

"But we will find you, not your body," Draco said firmly.

Harry smiled slightly, "I admire your optimism Draco," he said honestly.

Draco's eyes flared slightly with something that Harry didn't recognise.

"Alright," Harry said, he cleared his throat, "Susan authorized a team of 4 to come in and save me. Now, going by Auror guidelines I can only assume she means a force of 4 can break into the building. That excludes those monitoring the situation from above, for example."

Theo and Eddie nodded knowingly, "You want us both on the roof?"

"Yes," Harry said calmly, "During the change-over somebody has to stay here, and then somebody has to come back here with Teddy and protect the place while the others come after me. The team who will be coming for me will be led by Neville, and the other three members will be Ron, Dana and Harrison."

Draco opened his mouth to object.

"No, Draco," Harry said firmly, "This is a hostage situation. I _need_ trained Aurors, I will not let you risk your life because you don't know the regulations. Theo and Eddie will keep an eye on things from above."

"So what are we meant to do?" Draco asked in disbelief, "Daphne and I? Just sit around here uselessly while your life is in danger?"

"No, I need you to be with Teddy," Harry said firmly, "I need people I trust to protect him and he's going to be upset. He needs you, Draco."

Draco glared at Harry, "If you die-"

"You won't be able to live with yourself?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"I won't!" Draco exclaimed angrily, "You can joke all you want Potter, but you've actually become one of my closest bloody friends and I've lost far too many of them already!"

Harry sighed and caught his grey eyes, "I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be, for Teddy's sake."

Draco accepted this with a very stiff nod, but he made it clear that he wasn't happy about it.

Harry pressed his bracelet, aware he was still staring at Draco. He only looked away when Susan's voice buzzed into the room.

" _What's happening?"_

"We have a plan," Harry said, his eyes flicking to the clock.

2.50pm.

" _Shoot."_

"We go ahead as planned. We let Creevey take me, and the others come to find me."

" _Have they put a tracker in you?"_

"Yes, it was very painful, thank you very much."

" _You're an Auror, deal with it,"_ Susan said, amusement slipping into her voice.

Harry couldn't manage a smile, "I have authorized Neville, Ron, Dana and Harrison to come in after me with Eddie and Theo running diagnostics from a distance. They are under strict orders not to enter the building."

" _And the others?"_

"I've put Draco and Daphne on protection duty," Harry informed her, "They are to bring Teddy back here and keep him safe."

" _That job only takes one, Harry,"_ Susan said calmly, _"Draco is an Auror, why not switch him out for one of your Class II's?"_

"Because Draco is only a Class III Auror, and he hasn't been trained in hostage situations," Harry said, "I don't trust that he won't put himself in danger."

" _You're trying to protect him?"_

"Teddy's going to need a Father figure if this goes south," Harry said, his eyes boring into Draco's, "So Draco stays here, Susan."

" _Your call at the end of the day,"_ Susan said.

"In the event that Creevey kills me immediately and does not torture me," Harry said, incredibly calm considering he was talking about his own death, "Can you retrieve the box and hand out the letters inside it? You know the hiding place, and the passcode?"

" _Have you changed it?"_

"No."

" _Then I know it, and I'll do it_ ," Susan said, there was a pause on the line _, "But let's hope I don't have to. Good luck Harry."_

"Thanks," Harry said darkly, "Potter out."

"Come on," Neville said, the second the call had ended, "Everyone glamour up apart from the people who are staying here."

"That means you, Draco," Harry said quietly as the others began to glamour up to look like casual bystanders close to the rendezvous point.

"Why are you so against me coming to any part of this?" Draco hissed, once more up close and personal as he got in Harry's face.

"You heard what I said to Susan, I meant it," Harry replied.

"That's bullshit Potter," Draco bit back, "What's the real reason?"

"That is the real reason," Harry said calmly, " _Stay here."_

"Right, we're ready!" Neville called.

Harry nodded, "Get to the basement, I'll be there in a moment. Daphne, take Andromeda to the rendezvous point, and then bring her and Teddy back here."

They all nodded, and Daphne hooked her arm into Andromeda's. They all left with no further objections.

"Draco," Harry said calmly, "I don't know what's going on with you today because normally you're very objective but-"

"I don't want to see you die," Draco muttered, "I'm not used to being friends with heroic idiots like you."

Harry smiled weakly and held out his hand, "Well…I suppose I should say it, just in case…goodbye."

Draco shook his head, "Don't be an idiot," He said as he grabbed Harry and pulled him into a firm hug.

Harry hugged him back, maybe a little tighter than he should have, and he held on, probably for a little longer than he should have. When he pulled back he was surprised to see strong emotions swimming in Draco's eyes.

"Good luck Harry," He said, his voice solid on the surface, but breaking underneath.

Harry nodded and clapped Draco on the shoulder as he left the blonde standing alone in the drawing room.

* * *

They apparated away one by one after Harry had left. He was dressed normally, and he had left his wand in the drawing room of Andromeda's house. He was standing by a statue in a secluded area of the park and he was aware of the others nearby. They were reading newspapers, standing chatting, or jogging, and they all looked like casual bystanders.

Dennis walked towards Harry, he was thin and gaunt and he had a certain madness in his eyes. He was holding Teddy's hand, and the poor boy looked terrified. His usual appearance, blue hair and dark brown eyes, had changed, as it often did according to his emotional state. His hair was now a dark red, and his eyes a grey-ish blue. Harry swallowed his anger and glanced behind him to Andromeda who was sitting on a park bench. When Dennis reached Harry he grabbed his arm, and Harry whispered to Teddy.

"Run to Grandma."

Teddy did not need to be told twice, he ran as fast as he could to the bench and threw himself into Andromeda's arms. Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and Dennis placed a proximity charm on him, "Come on Harry. We're going for a little walk."

Harry nodded and walked in time with the younger man.

"How are you today then Dennis?" Harry asked, he knew it probably wasn't a good idea to provoke the boy but he couldn't resist.

"Oh just fantastic," Dennis replied sarcastically, "I _really_ enjoyed those years you had me locked up in St. Mungo's with all the loonies!"

"Well you clearly are one of those loonies," Harry said calmly as they reached a secluded part in the trees and Dennis spun, apparating them away.

When the spinning stopped Harry glanced around. From what he could gather they seemed to be in an old, underground car park. Harry had no wand, and therefore no way to defend himself as Dennis forced him into a chair with a spell that knocked the wind out of him, and then bound his arms and legs to said chair.

"So, Dennis," Harry said, "I think it's fairly obvious that you brought me here to kill me. The question is, what are you going to do to me first?"

"Do you know how my brother died?" Dennis asked calmly.

"The killing curse," Harry replied.

"No," Dennis spat, "You cared so much, yet you have no idea how he died!"

"How did he die?" Harry asked quietly.

"Slowly, painfully and alone," Dennis said bitterly, "He was hit by a curse that began to slowly break every bone in his body. He fell to the ground, left for dead, and nobody did anything, nobody gave him any mercy! So if you think you will find mercy at my hands, you are wrong!"

Harry swallowed, "Dennis, I swear. I did not know that-"

"OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T!" Dennis screamed, "Because you never took the time to know! But now you do, Harry. And now, you are going to suffer, just like Colin did!"

The thin, manic looking mousy haired boy raised his wand and pointed it at Harry's foot.

"Osconterat tardi nunc!"

Harry was aware of the spell. He knew the Death Eaters had used it. He knew it was dark magic. But he had never had it used on him, and despite his incredibly high pain threshold he screamed in agony when the pain began in both of his feet. It felt like all of the bones in his feet were slowly being crushed, like a pressure was pushing them to the point of breakage but it wasn't a fast snap like all the other broken bones he'd had. It was all happening in slow motion and it _fucking_ hurt.

* * *

"Uncle Draco!"

"Teddy," Draco breathed as he wrapped the little boy up in his arms, "Thank Merlin, you're alright."

"Draco, they took Uncle Harry," Teddy whispered into Draco's ear as the blonde lifted the little boy up.

"I know," Draco said gently, "But your Uncle Harry and I have some fantastic friends Ted and they're going to bring him back just fine."

Draco didn't know that of course. He was lying through his teeth to Teddy, but the truth was too painful for a small child to understand. Draco sat down on the sofa with Teddy on his lap and asked, "Did the man who took you hurt you?"

"He hit me there," Teddy said, pointing to a small cut on the side of his head.

"I'll fix that for you," Draco said gently and he began to occupy himself by looking after Teddy's wound. He cleaned it, he healed it, and he closed it very slowly. When he was finished Teddy cuddled into his neck and Draco sighed as he caught Daphne's eye across the room. She was sitting next to Andromeda, who had been very shaky and who was now asleep.

"I slipped her a soothing draught," Daphne whispered when she reached him, "Do you think I ought to do the same for Teddy?"

Draco shook his head, "He's already asleep. He's exhausted," He whispered.

Daphne glanced at the clock anxiously, and then looked back to Draco.

"How long have you felt like this for?"

Draco frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"About Harry," Daphne said as she sat down next to him on the sofa.

Teddy sniveled in his sleep and gripped the front of Draco's robes with his fist. Draco sighed and gently placed his hand on top of Teddy's, and it seemed to calm him from whatever nightmare he was facing.

"Are you going to answer me, Draco?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Draco whispered.

"Yes, you do," Daphne whispered back, "How long has it been since your childhood crush on Harry Potter became more than that?"

"He's just my friend, Daphne," Draco said, a curtness in his voice even though he was whispering.

"You were terrified today, you _are_ terrified," Daphne said, "I've never seen you like this, Draco."

"He's my friend Daphne and my nephews life was at risk," Draco whispered, "Of course I was upset and scared. It has nothing to do with Potter and whatever feelings you think I harbour for him."

"Well if you're certain," Daphne said, but it was clear that she didn't believe a word that Draco was saying, "Because if you did happen to have feelings for him and he survives this you might want to tell him before he gets back with his ex. They slept together last night, him and Susan."

"I know," Draco said simply.

"And you're not at all jealous?"

"He's just my friend, Daphne," Draco said, his irritation now bordering on anger, "So _drop it_."

* * *

"What's going on in there?" Neville whispered as he and the team hid in a clump of bushes close to the building where they now knew that Harry was being held.

"I can't tell until we get past the wards," Theo whispered.

"Well, _hurry_!" Ron snapped.

"We're going as fast as we can!" Eddie bit back.

"Shh," Dana hushed as her wand vibrated. Her eyes widened, "Hurry, Eddie!"

"What did that mean?" Neville asked darkly.

"It means his bones are breaking. Every vibration is another injury…the tracker monitors his health too," Dana whispered an incantation and her eyes widened even more, "That can't be right…"

"What's it saying?" Neville and Ron asked in unison.

"That 52 of his bones are broken, his heart rate is far too high and that he's losing a lot of blood," Dana said quickly.

"52?" Neville hissed, "For the love of Godric, hurry up and break those wards!"

"I've got them, it's done," Theo said as he grabbed Eddie, they were all disillusioned so they could move fairly easily. They had already established that Dennis was working alone.

"Get to the roof, and keep your communications channel open!" Neville said to them as he began to run towards the front entrance of the car park with the rest of his 'team' shortly behind him. They entered the building slowly and carefully. By the time they reached the stairwell Theo and Eddie, who had been huffing and gasping down the communication channel, had reached the roof.

"I don't want to split up unless we have to," Neville whispered, "Can you tell me if we should be going up, or down?"

"The lowest floor of the building, that's where they are. The rest of it is completely abandoned," Said Theo's breathy voice.

"Okay, keep an eye out," Neville told them. He began to walk down the stairwell, slowly and quietly, they had all placed charms on their feet to muffle their footsteps. Halfway down they heard the screams.

They were agonizingly loud and they echoed up the stairwell. Harry didn't usually scream, but he was clearly screaming in agony, and it was blood curdling. They quickened their pace down to the lowest floor of the car park and when they reached the entrance they realised the extent of Harry's injuries.

The bone crushing curse had reached his knees now, and there was a pool of blood on the floor around him as his bones stuck out of his feet and legs at all sorts of disgusting angles. It was a good thing they were all Aurors, and therefore none of them were squeamish.

"Susan said curse to kill," Neville whispered.

"Juniors shouldn't kill unless they have to," Ron muttered, "And you got suspended the last time you killed someone. Let me do it."

"Why does she want him dead?" Dana asked in a panicked whisper.

"Because he's insane, we can't put him in Azkaban or give him the veil treatment," Neville replied, "All he'll get for this is a few more years in St. Mungo's and then he'll be out again."

"Neville, I'll do it," Ron mumbled, "I know you can't, you're only a Class III now."

Neville nodded, and shut his eyes as Ron took a few steps closer and aimed his wand around the doorway.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Dennis's body fell to the ground, and the spell he had been torturing Harry with ended. The four Aurors ran into the room and Neville reached Harry first. He seemed to be in a haze of pain with no idea what had happened around him. His face was streaked with tears that he probably wasn't aware he had been crying, and he was breathing heavily and still shouting in agony.

"Harry, it's me," Neville said softly, "It's Neville. I'm going to get you to St. Mungo's, right away."

"Nev…" Harry choked out.

"That's right, it's me," Neville said, he had been busying himself by turning a stray brick into a portkey, and once it was done he numbed Harry's legs and lay him down on a stretcher that he had transfigured. He put the brick on Harry's chest and touched it himself to activate it. It pulled them both from the room, into the emergency ward at St. Mungo's.

"Oh my god," The trauma Healer on duty said.

"Bone crushing curse," Neville said quickly, "Seems to have broken all of the bones from his knees downwards. If you don't start mending them fast-"

"Permanent damage, I know Auror Longbottom," The man said harshly as a team of about 10 healers rushed Harry away. Neville followed them inside and sat down on the floor in the corridor as he heard the first screams of pain coming from the operating room where they were fixing Harry's bones.

He activated his communication bracelet and Susan's voice crackled into the room immediately.

" _Is he alive?"_

"Yes."

" _Is he uninjured?"_

"No."

" _How bad is it Neville?"_

"Bone crushing curse," Neville said quietly, "Every single bone from the knee down. In case you haven't heard the screams, he's in the operating room now. They're going to have to try and fix every single one, it's got to be over 100 bones Susan."

Susan hissed angrily, _"And Dennis Creevey?"_

"Dead. Ron followed the authorization to use lethal curses," Neville replied.

" _Ron, and not you?"_

"You know my moral conscious Susan, I couldn't do it," Neville said weakly, "I'm at the hospital, and I intend to stay here until I can see Harry. Ron is bringing in Creevey's body so I suppose you should be prepared for the fall out."

" _The press already know something's wrong, they're gathering outside,_ " Susan sighed, _"Update me if the situation changes."_

"I will. Longbottom out."

* * *

The group of Aurors, and kind-of Aurors, who traipsed up the stairs into the drawing room of Andromeda's house were tired and downtrodden. When they emerged into the drawing room they came face to face with the rest of their team. Andromeda was still asleep on one of the sofas, and Teddy was now asleep and covered in a blanket on the soft rug. Daphne and Draco were standing up when Theo, Eddie, Dana and Harrison returned.

"What happened?" Draco whispered.

"We found Harry alive," Theo replied.

"But he's in St. Mungo's," Harrison added.

"What's wrong with him?" Draco asked quickly.

"Creevey used a bone crushing curse," Dana whispered, "He broke all of the bones from his knees down."

Draco's face contorted with anger, and disgust.

"Ron killed Creevey, we were authorized to use lethal curses…he took him back to the Ministry. Susan is debriefing him, and she wants us there too. We just stopped by to tell you how it had gone," Eddie admitted.

"Where's Longbottom?"

"At St. Mungo's, with Harry."

Draco nodded, "Are Daphne and I needed at the debriefing?"

"No, just the team that went in," Harrison said, "So we have to go."

"Alright, good luck with it," Draco said, mainly to his own team members.

They nodded at their boss and left with Dana and Harrison. Draco turned to look at Daphne and she smiled slightly, "Go."

"Teddy needs me here, Harry was right," Draco said as he sat down on the rug next to the sleeping boy and gently stroked his hair.

"Teddy's asleep," Daphne said simply, "And Harry needs you too, even if neither of you will admit it."

Draco smiled a little as he looked at her, "Sometimes I wish things had been different Daphne. Up until recently I thought you and I would make a good Husband and Wife. Even if it was just to produce a gorgeous little blonde heir and then do our own thing…I always thought it would happen one day."

"So did I," Daphne admitted as she sat down on the other side of the sleeping boy, "But then I met Neville."

Draco nodded, "And now you're thinking about what it would be like to marry for love, not for status or money."

"As insane as that sounds coming from me, yes," Daphne said honestly.

"I'll have to marry at some point," Draco sighed, "I need an heir."

"You don't need to be married to have an heir," Daphne said knowingly, "Didn't you see the new legislation about the surrogacy programme at St. Mungo's-"

"Daphne-"

"Two men can have children now, Draco. It's a big leap forward for-"

"Daphne," Draco hissed, "I'm a Malfoy, for crying out loud. I _will_ marry and produce an heir."

"Even though you don't want that," Daphne said quietly, "Sometimes I think you should stop trying so hard to be a Malfoy and think about what you want."

"And what do I want?" Draco asked sarcastically.

"To be with Harry Potter," Daphne replied smoothly.

Draco didn't even bother correcting her, or fighting with her on the matter.

Daphne smiled knowingly, and said, "Go on Draco, go to St. Mungo's and see Harry."

Draco leant across Teddy and kissed Daphne lightly on the cheek, "Thank you, and…not a word of this to anyone."

"My lips are sealed," Daphne promised.

* * *

"Auror Longbottom?"

Neville looked up.

"We've just transferred Auror Potter into his private room. You know it, yes?"

Neville nodded and pushed himself to his feet, "Thanks," He said to the healer as he took the steps two at a time and darted to the highest floor. He let himself into Harry's room and grimaced when he saw the state of his friend.

"Bone knitting potion?"

"Agony," Harry hissed with a slight nod.

Neville sighed and stood by his friend's bedside, "Susan made the wrong call today."

"What did she say in your private talk?" Harry asked through gritted teeth.

"She said that the priority was to save you, but if we couldn't then to bring your body back," Neville frowned, "She actually ordered me to let you go, to let you get kidnapped. If this is a thing, and you're getting back together with her, I think you should know that."

Harry sighed, "I told you it's not a thing. But I do know that she made the right call. She knows me Nev, and I'm not saying you don't because you're my best friend. But she knows I would not be able to live knowing Teddy had died. I wouldn't, I would rather die for him than live without him."

"Sounds like the voice of a parent," Neville said softly.

"He's as good as my son," Harry said softly, "I love him more than I've ever loved anyone, and I would do anything for him."

"I know," Neville said.

"Susan was strong today. She's always strong, her personal feelings don't get in the way and if they do she doesn't show it. She's perfect Neville," Harry said, "She's the only woman I've ever felt that way about. But it just…it doesn't compare…"

"To how you feel about Draco Malfoy?"

Harry sighed, "Neville, I'm serious. Maybe I should just marry a woman and do the proper thing. I realised today that life is short. I want children, I want a family and if I carry on in this job who knows how much longer I have. That was one person with a personal grudge against me, who knows how many more there are out there? I've hurt a lot of people, I've put a lot of people in Azkaban. You know what they say about Aurors, we live fast and die young. I'm 25 this year, I'm practically middle-aged."

"Harry, you are not marrying Susan. It would be for the wrong reasons and you know that. Just like you know you have feelings for Malfoy since you didn't deny that."

"What?" Harry asked sheepishly, "Feelings for _Malfoy?"_

"Everyone can feel the sexual tension in a room with you two," Neville said pointedly, "You practically stalked the guy for a year at school-"

"- because he was a Death Eater!"

"Whatever," Neville said in amusement, "You have feelings for him, and he has feelings for you. Don't deny it, you know that, you saw how he was today!"

"Look, I don't know if I have _feelings_ for him!" Harry bit through his pain, "It's complicated Nev. He's just _there_ in my brain, all of the time. He always has been. He's Malfoy, he's infuriating and I used to hate his stupid little smirk, but now I don't and suddenly he's not a ratty little git but he's actually quite…attractive…and I can't decide whether I want to hit him or..."

"Jump into bed with him?"

Harry nodded glumly, "Looking back, I suppose it did start in 6th year. But I wasn't _stalking_ him, I really did think he was a Death Eater but I started to feel sorry for him and then I spent all that time after the war trying to catch him and when I did I didn't want to put him in Azkaban…"

"I know it's complicated," Neville said, his genuine concern tainted by the amused grin on his face, "But you can't ask Susan to marry you if you have feelings for someone else. That's just a dick move, Harry."

"Yeah well, what if she's okay with it?" Harry quipped, "I need to marry Neville, I need an heir before I'm 30. So do you, so does Malfoy. We're all from pureblood families."

"So you think Susan will be cool with marrying you, having your child and then letting you fuck Malfoy?" Neville asked in disbelief, "You do realise you don't actually need to marry to have an heir these days, anyway? That new programme at St. Mungo's, the surrogacy one, it can take the DNA of two men and make a baby, through a surrogate Mother. You can't pull that 'I need an heir shit' when there are alternatives."

Harry groaned, "And like Malfoy would agree to that, if he even has feelings for me, which he probably doesn't. He probably just hates me. You're right, I probably shouldn't use Susan like that, and it's not like I even like women, I mean, not really anyway."

"Fucking hell Harry," Neville said, his smile still on his face, "I'm so glad I'm not one of these dabbling purebloods. I'm quite happy with women, thanks."

"Apart from Belarus-"

"We said we'd never mention Belarus!"

Harry grinned, despite the pain, "You're right, it would make things easier if I was completely straight but I can't exactly control the fact that I…"

"Want to screw Draco Malfoy?"

"Exactly," Harry muttered.

Neville chuckled as he got to his feet, "I've got to get back to the Ministry, I'm sure it's chaos there."

"If you see Suse, ask her to come visit me."

"Only if you promise you won't ask her to marry you," Neville said with a frown.

"I promise," Harry said, although he wasn't entirely convincing.

Neville shook his head, amusement mingling with his irritation, "You're a terrible liar," He said as he left the hospital room.

* * *

When Susan walked into Harry's private hospital room she smiled weakly at the man in the bed. He was soaked with sweat and still seemed to be in an awful lot of pain.

"Suse," Harry said.

"Hey," Susan said as she sat down next to his bed, "Aren't you on pain potions?"

Harry shook his head, "They interfere with the bone knitting potion that is currently resetting about 80 bones."

Susan grimaced, "Ouch."

"Tell me about it," Harry muttered.

"Neville said you wanted to see me," Susan said, watching him carefully.

Harry nodded and caught her green eyes, they were a similar colour to his, only a far darker shade of green, "The thing is Susan…what happened today made me think about a lot of things. And I wondered how you felt about marriage."

Susan raised an eyebrow at him, "To you?"

"Uh, yes," Harry said simply.

"Harry, you're gay," Susan said in amusement.

"Well not entirely, I slept with you didn't I?" Harry retorted.

Susan hid an amused smile, "Harry, even last night…we never have _normal_ sex. It's always a little bit…different."

Harry rolled his eyes, "So?"

"So, no. I won't marry you because you're bloody gay," Susan said as she laughed, "I'm sorry but I'm not going to be one of those face saving marriages for you. It's not like you even need a wife to create an heir these days, not with that new surrogacy programme-"

"Oh for Godric's sake, you sound exactly like Neville," Harry said irritably.

"Well, it's the truth," Susan remarked, surveying Harry with interest, "And since you actually just asked me to marry you, I have a question for you. How long have you been lusting after Draco Malfoy?"

"What?" Harry choked.

"You heard me, it was obvious that you told him to stay at Andromeda's house because you were worried about him," Susan said, a knowing glint in her eye, "How long has it being going on for?"

"There is _nothing_ going on Susan," Harry said, hissing in pain, "I'm his boss."

"Like that's stopped you before," Susan said with a raised eyebrow, "I have been involved in this department for years Harry, and I have been involved with _you_ for years. I know the reason Gibson asked to leave before we brought Dana in as the 2nd Class II on your team."

Harry's eyes flashed, "You know about that?"

"The guy was a nervous wreck when he asked for a transfer. He was terrified you'd kill him if anyone found out," Susan said pointedly, "So I'm not buying that excuse either. You practically begged me to set up this team, and I'm not saying your reasoning wasn't justified because I know it was. But you were insistent on Malfoy being the leader."

Harry narrowed his eyes at the woman who was not only his friend and his ex, but also his boss.

"Fine," Harry said after a moment of silence, "I like him, I have for years. But that wasn't why I wanted him on the team. All those years chasing after him Suse…and then his girlfriend rats him out, and his 'colleagues' are willing to give evidence against him…and he just seemed like that pathetic scared little kid he was in 6th year when they tried to make him kill Dumbledore. I could see he was a good person and Azkaban would have ruined him…that was why I wanted him to have the job. Not because of any feelings, because I pushed them down after the war and they only bubbled up again when we started working together."

Susan smiled slightly, "Well, that was what I expected."

"But nothing has happened," Harry added, "We're just friends."

"And you're just having a midlife crisis now because you think you're never going to have an heir because you're completely gay for Draco Malfoy," Susan grinned.

Despite the fact she was taking the complete piss out of him, Harry couldn't help but smile too, "Yeah, that's pretty much it."

"That's what I thought," Susan smirked as she got to her feet, "Well your secret is safe with me. Get better soon Harry."

* * *

"Malfoy!"

The blonde looked up and caught Susan's eye as they met on the staircase outside Harry's room, "Visiting Potter?"

"I was," Susan replied, "Can we have a word?"

Draco's eyes narrowed but he nodded and followed her back up the stairs into the empty corridor outside Harry's room. Susan glanced around and then pulled Draco into a store cupboard.

The blonde raised an eyebrow at her, "Aren't you meant to be Potter's girlfriend?"

"Or fiancée," Susan said with a shake of her head.

"What?"

"That sounded like jealousy."

"Did it?" Draco drawled, he was sick of denying it.

"Look, this is why I need to talk to you," Susan said quietly, "Anyone with eyes can see that there is something going on between you and Harry. Merlin knows why he asked me to marry him. We dated years ago and last night was just a one night stand, believe me. But he seems to think he has to marry to produce an heir and all of that pureblood nonsense, so I can guess where he heard that."

"First of all, there's nothing between us, we're just friends," Draco said smoothly, "And I may have told him that he should consider sleeping with women, in order to produce an heir. But that was all I did, mention the idea."

Susan rolled her eyes, "Stop denying it. You're only hurting yourselves and each other."

Draco sighed, "We are just friends, and the last time I checked you were my boss so…"

"So you wouldn't tell me even if there was anything going on," Susan finished, "Yes, well I didn't think of it like that. But stop with the pureblood stuff please, it took Harry long enough to come to terms with this. He isn't the sort of person who marries just to produce an heir, Malfoy."

"Alright, how was I meant to know that?" Draco asked irritably, "I barely know him as Harry Potter, the person I actually like. Rather than Harry Potter the idiot I went to Hogwarts with."

"And that's the problem," Susan sighed, "Look, I have to get back to work. The place is going crazy at the moment, Harry's going to be out of action for a few weeks so I'd advise you and your team to take some impromptu holiday."

"Thanks for the warning," Draco said as Susan grabbed the door handle and they slipped out into the corridor, which was still empty.

Susan just gave him a nod, "See you around, Malfoy," She said as she set off down the stairs in a hurry.

Draco shook his head in disbelief at the conversation he had just had with Susan, and walked into Harry's room.

"Oh, hey Draco," Harry smiled.

"When did we become Draco and Harry, as opposed to Malfoy and Potter?" Draco asked curiously as he sat down in the seat by Harry's bed that Susan had just been occupying.

"At some point when we thought I was going to die," Harry grinned, "I guess death makes true feelings come out."

"I guess," Draco said with a nervous chuckle.

Harry smiled, "So how are things at the Ministry? Susan said they were a bit mad."

"Yeah, it's chaos apparently," Draco said, relaying the redhead's words, "Apparently you asked her to marry you."

"She said no," Harry said in amusement, "How'd you find out so quickly?"

"We literally passed each other on the stairs," Draco said dryly.

"Ah," Harry said thoughtfully, "Do you think asking her to marry me was the right thing to do?"

"Probably not," Draco said, "Because you were only doing it so that you could produce an heir. Weren't you?"

"If I was I only have you to blame. It was you who gave me the idea," Harry said.

Draco looked out of the window thoughtfully, "Yes, well it doesn't mean it's a good one Potter. Just because I feel I have to get married and produce an heir, doesn't mean it's the done thing for every pureblood. And you're a half-blood anyway."

"So, you don't think I should get married?" Harry asked.

"By all means get married if you fall in love, but it shouldn't be for the wrong reasons," Draco said as his eyes snapped towards Harry, "I grew up in a world where marriage was for class or status or money, but never for love. I find it hard to comprehend that it can be, but you don't have the same background as me, so yes, I think you should marry for love. As frowned upon as it is to be gay in this world, it isn't illegal to marry a man, nor is it impossible to have children."

"You are the third person to tell me that today," Harry said with a shake of his head, "If I hear the words St. Mungo's new surrogacy legislation one more time…"

Draco laughed, "Yes, well it's only because we don't want you to end up being a miserable old git which is what happens when people marry for heirs. We all have to work with you, you'd be a nightmare."

Harry chuckled, but he was clearly flagging. He was pale, and he looked exhausted. Draco knew he had to spit it out now if he was going to tell Harry about his _feelings_. He frowned, "Potter, I need to tell you something."

Harry smiled weakly, "Yeah?"

"I…" Draco frowned, "The thing is I sort of…well I…I…"

He couldn't do it, he couldn't tell his arch enemy that he wasn't his arch enemy. He couldn't get the words out, he couldn't tell Harry Potter he desperately wanted to kiss him every time he saw him. He completely chickened out.

"I left Teddy with Daphne," Draco choked out, "And he was asleep, but I feel quite guilty. He was ever so upset, and I really should get back to him. I think someone should stay with him, for protection."

Harry smiled, "That's a good idea Malfoy."

Draco nodded, but Harry's walls were back up. He knew that because he wasn't Draco anymore, he was Malfoy again.

"So I'll get going," Draco said, "I'll see you around, Potter."

"See you, Malfoy."

* * *

When Draco woke up on the 3rd of April he had a small child curled up with him. He wasn't sure when Teddy had snuck into the guest bedroom where Draco was sleeping in Andromeda's house. But it must have been at some point in the middle of the night. In his sleep his hair often changed colour depending on his thoughts, or who he was with. At the moment it was pure blonde, and Draco's heart jumped slightly.

In that moment with Teddy curled up next to him, his hair so blonde, his breathing soft and even, his thumb in his mouth…Draco realised that he wanted children. He had always loved Teddy, but he had never really thought about having his own children. He knew he _needed_ an heir but now he actually wanted one and the irony was that the person he had been counting on doing that with was dating Neville bloody Longbottom.

Draco yawned and extracted himself from Teddy's grasp. He slipped a dressing gown on over his pajamas and the movement woke Teddy. He peered up at Draco through bleary eyes.

"I was scared last night Uncle Draco," Teddy mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"That's alright Teddy," Draco said gently as he lifted the boy up in his Cannons pajamas, personally Draco would have preferred it if he supported Puddlemere United, but Harry had gotten to him first so the Cannons it was.

"Would pancakes cheer you up?" Draco asked Teddy as he shifted the 7 year old to his hip and walked out of the room with him.

"Maybe," Teddy said with a frown, "If they have bacon and syrup on them!"

Draco shook his head and chuckled as he stepped onto the staircase and walked downstairs with the boy, "Pancakes and syrup? Yuck!"

"Not yuck!" Teddy exclaimed, "It's yummy! Uncle Harry lets me have it, Uncle Harry makes me pancakes with chocolate spread, banana and marmite!"

"Uncle Harry has disgusting taste in food," Draco said matter of factly.

"Hey, that's not nice!"

Draco chuckled, "I'm sorry Teddy."

"Can I ask you a question, Uncle Draco?" Teddy asked thoughtfully.

"Of course you can," Draco said as he walked into the kitchen and popped Teddy down on a bar stool. He ignored the fact that Daphne and Neville were sitting at the kitchen table, still fully dressed in their clothes from the day before.

Teddy watched Draco for a moment as he began to get pots out of the cupboards.

"Grandma has two friends who visit a lot and they are both boys…and Grandma says that they live together…and I saw them kiss one time at Christmas and Grandma says it's because they love each other. But boys are supposed to marry girls, aren't they?"

Draco dropped the flour in shock at Teddy's question, and the completely innocent nature with which it was asked. He was well aware of Neville's laughter, and Daphne's snort of amusement. But he chose to ignore them.

Draco cleared his throat, and cleaned up the spilled flour with his wand, "Well Teddy, that's a complicated question."

"Is it?" Teddy frowned, "Because I think anyone can love anyone, can't they? I think I love Victoire…and she's a girl. But I think you love Uncle Harry, because you smile when you're with him and you said his name last night when you were asleep. Were you dreaming about him, Uncle Draco?"

Daphne was now struggling to control herself, and Neville had buried his head in his arms as his entire body shook with laughter. Teddy was oblivious to the sheer chaos he had caused.

Draco stared at Teddy in disbelief, he was completely speechless.

"I think you're right Teddy," Daphne said as she walked over to the little boy and sat next to him on a bar stool, "I think anyone can love anyone. But not everybody understands that, so sometimes a person can love more than one person."

"More than one?" Teddy asked in surprise.

"Yes," Draco said, "Because there are lots of different kinds of love. You love your Grandma with a family kind of love, but you love Victoire in a friendly way."

Teddy frowned, "So what way do you love Uncle Harry?"

Draco's calm façade cracked again.

"That's a good question Teddy," Daphne said with a grin, "In what way do you _love_ him, Draco?"

Draco glared at his supposed best friend, and replied, "In a friendship way, Teddy."

Teddy nodded, apparently deep in thought, "Okay."

"Any more questions?" Draco asked, dreading whatever they may be.

"Can two boys have babies?" Teddy asked.

Neville was too far gone now, he was literally guffawing and crying with laughter.

Draco shook his head at Daphne in disbelief, "Uh, yes. But it's quite complicated Teddy."

"Why?"

"Well, because…because…oh Salazar. Daphne, please help me out here," Draco said, but Daphne was struggling to hold her laughter in.

"Girls and boys are made differently Teddy," Daphne explained calmly, "Only girls can carry a baby in their tummy so two boys can make a baby, but a girl has to carry it in her tummy for them."

"That's really nice of her," Teddy said thoughtfully.

Daphne smiled, somewhere between amusement and a genuine smile, "It would be a nice thing to do, wouldn't it?"

He nodded, apparently to himself and then turned back to Draco, "Can I have pancakes now?"

Draco was eager for the distraction, and Daphne retired to the table to try and calm Neville down. Draco made pancakes and dished them out to everyone. Then once Teddy had eaten Draco shoo-ed him upstairs to get dressed.

"That was the funniest thing I've ever witnessed," Neville grinned when they were alone together.

"Children," Draco said with a shake of his head and a fond smile.

"You want them," Daphne said softly.

"Yeah, I do," Draco said honestly as he caught her eye.

"Why are you having eye sex with my girlfriend?" Neville asked cautiously.

"I'm not your girlfriend," Daphne pointed out, "You've never officially asked me out."

Neville narrowed his eyes at her.

"And don't worry, he's not having eye sex with me. He's communicating wordlessly," Daphne said in amusement.

"Whats he saying?" Neville asked slowly.

"That he wants me to have his babies," Daphne grinned.

"What?"

Draco snorted in amusement, "No, you were the one who said to Teddy that it would be a nice thing to do. I'm a Malfoy, I marry and produce an heir, remember?"

"You don't seem as set on that idea as you did before you went to visit Harry in the hospital," Daphne said slyly.

Draco rolled his eyes, "No. I simply told him that I disagreed with the fact that he asked Susan to marry him with the purpose of producing an heir. I told him that _unlike_ me, his family weren't so traditional and he could get away with using the surrogacy programme."

"So he actually asked her to marry him?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"Apparently so," Draco replied.

"And?"

"And she said no," Draco said, a little triumphantly.

"Are you even pretending that you aren't ecstatic about that?" Daphne asked in amusement.

Draco sighed heavily, "No."

"So you're finally admitting you want to shag him?" Daphne asked in amusement.

"To you two, yes. To him, no," Draco said as a smirk played on his lips, "I enjoy the little love hate thing we have going on, that doesn't mean that I have _feelings_ for him."

"Yeah right," Daphne snorted.

"What are you going to do now?" Neville asked in amusement.

"Now?" Draco asked thoughtfully.

Teddy walked back into the room, fully dressed, and asked eagerly, "Uncle Draco! Can we go visit Uncle Harry in hospital?"

"Now," Draco finished in a whisper, "I'm avoiding him," He raised his voice and turned to Teddy, "Oh, I'm sorry Ted. I'm really busy with work today but Auntie Daph or Uncle Neville will take you to see Harry. Won't you?"

Before either of them had a chance to answer Draco kissed Teddy on the forehead and practically ran towards the fireplace like the coward that he was.

* * *

For the next two weeks, Harry had to remain in St. Mungo's. It took four painful days for his bones to fully heal themselves. And after that he had to go through physical therapy to get his strength back up because he had been incredibly wobbly at first. It was horrific, but Teddy was there throughout it all and his smile cheered Harry to no end. Hermione were around too, everyone had visited him, Neville, Ron, Dana, Harrison, Daphne, and even Theo and Eddie. But since that 1st visit Harry hadn't seen Draco and he now knew that the Slytherin was definitely avoiding him, for one reason or another.

"I actually kind of miss him," Harry told Hermione when she arrived to help him out of St. Mungo's.

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked smugly as Harry got up, steady on his feet, and undressed.

Harry nodded, "Merlin, I can't wait to be out of these bloody scratchy hospital pajamas."

"Don't change the subject Harry," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow, "You miss Malfoy?"

Harry shrugged and pulled on the jeans she had brought him, "I miss his company. Almost as much as I miss my cigarettes."

Hermione smiled, "Well you two are becoming friends, and then there are your feelings for him…"

"Hermione, don't-" Harry sighed.

Hermione glanced down, "Sorry, you're a bit touchy about that, aren't you?"

"Yes well, he's been avoiding me," Harry said, "And I've no idea why."

"What was the last thing you talked about?" Hermione asked curiously.

"The fact I shouldn't marry Susan. He said I should marry for love, not to save face, or to produce an heir," Harry replied.

"Well, he's right," Hermione said thoughtfully, "Although I've no idea why he's avoiding you."

"Haven't you seen him at the Ministry?" Harry asked.

"Not really, we don't work in the same department," Hermione said honestly, "I mean I've seen him on occasion, when I've met Theo for lunch."

"Is he alright?" Harry asked, worry slipping into his voice.

"He seems okay, maybe he's a little paler than normal and a bit snappy," Hermione shrugged, "But he's always been a bit touchy so…"

"You can say that again," Harry said as he pulled on his leather jacket.

Hermione held out her arm to him, "Ready?"

Harry nodded and they left the hospital together the Muggle way. The second they were out in the open Harry lit up a cigarette and breathed an appreciative sigh.

Hermione sighed heavily, "I was hoping your time in hospital would have convinced you to kick that bloody terrible habit."

"No such luck," Harry sighed.

"I swear to Merlin, you've started smoking more since you and Malfoy became friends. If I didn't know better I'd have suggested that you use it as an excuse for one on one time together on that bloody balcony," Hermione said with a rather sly knowing smile.

"Nonsense," Harry said smoothly, "I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

"Of course you don't," Hermione said as she hid a smile, "Come on, I'm buying you lunch. It's my treat."

"Did Suse tell you when I'd be allowed back at work?"

"Monday," Hermione replied as they walked towards a Muggle café, "Apparently you are in perfect health."

"So why are you buying me lunch?" Harry asked as he narrowed his eyes at her, "You either want something, or you have bad news for me."

"Well, you have to be on desk duty…for at least a week," Hermione said warily.

Harry groaned, "What? If I'm perfect healthy why does she have to stick me behind a desk?"

"Don't ask me, I'm not your boss," Hermione said as she dragged him through the door, "She said it was protocol."

"Bloody protocol!"

 **TBC! :)**


	10. Isolation

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 10 - Isolation  
**

Harry hated being on desk duty. He knew it was an opportunity to get caught up on the paperwork that he was behind on but he still hated it. He had to get up and go for a walk around every so often so he didn't bore himself to death. He found himself wishing for a case that involved the downstairs team just for something to do. Luck came his way at 4.30pm when Susan walked into his office with a brown file.

"Oh is that a case for-"

"It's a case involving Team 0," Susan said before he could finish. There were 6 teams, officially. Harry's was Team 1, and Draco's, since it wasn't supposed to exist, was Team 0.

Harry smiled, "Perfect," He said as he took the file from her hands.

"Harry," Susan said with a raised eyebrow, "You are only allowed to give them this file and to convey information. You can sit down there and help them _in the office_ if your help is required. But you are not allowed to do fieldwork."

"Yes I understand that, _boss_."

Susan smirked, "Is Malfoy still avoiding you?"

"How do you know about that?" Harry asked as they left his office together.

"Hermione and I had lunch together today," Susan said.

"I really wish you didn't have lunch with my best friend."

"You're avoiding the question Harry," Susan remarked.

Harry sighed, "I don't know, I assume so. Although I have no idea why, I must have done something wrong though. I think I'm going to have to corner him on the balcony and ask him what's going on."

"You may have to," Susan said thoughtfully, "I can't have two of the best people in the department at odds."

"Of course, we'll sort it out as soon as I work out what _it_ is," Harry said with a smile, "I'll get this down to the basement and I promise I won't break the rules. I'm well aware that if I do I'll only be on desk duty for even longer."

"Good boy, you learn fast," Susan laughed as Harry stepped into the basement corridor and walked, probably a little too fast, down the stairs into the basement. When he did everyone turned to look at him.

"Afternoon all. I know it's late, but I've got a case for you," Harry said. He glanced over to Draco who was working at his desk. He didn't even look up, let alone meet Harry's eyes.

"Oh, what have we got?" Daphne asked eagerly.

"It's a murder," Harry said, "And I don't think you've done a murder case yet. Have you Malfoy?"

As the question was aimed at Draco he couldn't avoid Harry. So he looked up, "No, we haven't."

"Well the protocol is in here, code red and all. But the ideal situation is to bring him in alive and as usual, do whatever you need to do to get to the truth," Harry said, the air tense and awkward.

"Will do," Draco said.

"Alright," Harry said, clearing his throat, "Malfoy, can I have a word with you? In my office?"

Draco looked up in disbelief, "What?"

"You heard me," Harry said calmly, "For whatever reason you are avoiding me and I need to know why because we do have to work together."

"You are not serious," Draco said irritably.

"Yes, I am," Harry said sternly, "And whatever is going on with you right now is clearly having an impact on your capability to do your job so I think we should have a chat about this."

"I don't need to _chat_ to you about anything, Potter."

Harry's eyes flashed, "That's it Malfoy! My office now!" He snapped.

Draco shook his head in disbelief, "No."

"I am the Head Auror. If you won't come to my office I'll send you to Susan's office and trust me, I'm more forgiving than she is!" Harry snapped, "This team only exists because of me! You'd do well to remember who's in charge around here. So get to my office _, now!"_

Draco glared at him vehemently, "Fine," He hissed as he stalked from the room and stormed up the basement stairs like a grumpy child.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at the dark haired man, "What was that?"

"I have to pull rank around here sometimes," Harry said darkly, "I created this team, its victories are mine and it's failures are blamed on me. If your boss isn't at the top of his game, this team isn't at the top of its game and I can't let that slide."

"Alright, Head Auror Potter," Daphne said as she raised her hands in defeat.

"Harry, just don't take it too far. We do still need a team leader at the end of this," Neville pointed out.

"Neville, I know what I'm doing," Harry said impatiently, "Besides, it's not like he can quit unless he wants those 10 years in Azkaban. I have him right where I want him, I have the advantage in that office."

"Are we still talking about his reprimand?" Theo asked in amusement.

"Enough!" Harry barked, "Inter-team relations are off-limits. You would all do well to remember that, I know about two relationships concerning people in this office and in my office. If I so wish I can expose these people whenever I see fit. A little bit of ribbing between team mates is fine, but this is affecting Malfoy's ability to do his job and therefore affecting my ability to do mine."

"That's pretty Slytherin of you," Daphne frowned, "Blackmailing us with what you've got on us."

"Believe it or not, I was a hat stall," Harry said coolly, "And the Slytherin side only comes out when people are _really_ testing my patience."

"Wow, you and Malfoy really would be good together," Neville said bitterly, "Bribery, blackmail, the lot. You'd be perfectly happy."

"I said _enough_!" Harry shouted, "Don't make me put you in isolation overnight Auror Longbottom. You might be my friend, but I am also your superior and frankly all of you are failing to think objectively and do your job right now!".

"And your feelings for Malfoy aren't affecting your job?" Neville asked irritably, "You screwed up on that last job. You got caught! You never get caught Harry and you did because you were worried about Malfoy. We are not the only ones whose judgement is blurred!"

Harry grabbed Neville roughly by the scruff of his neck, "I did screw up but it had _nothing_ to do with Malfoy! It had everything to do with the fact my Godson had been kidnapped! My threats are not empty and you _will_ be spending tonight in isolation for questioning my senior position! Class III Aurors don't talk back to Class I Aurors, Longbottom."

"Throw me in isolation then _Potter,"_ Neville shouted, "See if I care! It doesn't change the fact that you are the one struggling to be objective here!"

Harry dragged Neville to the door and turned to the others, "Does anyone else want to question my authority?" He asked coolly.

Daphne stood up, "Yeah. I'm questioning it, you're being a dick!"

"I agree with Daphne!" Eddie said, standing up and glaring at Harry.

"And I agree too!" Theo said promptly, "We're _all_ questioning your authority."

"What are you going to do Potter, put us _all_ in isolation?" Daphne asked smugly.

"Yeah, I am," Harry said and before they had any time to fight back he had whipped out his wand and bodybinded all three of them.

"Harry," Neville hissed.

"You first," Harry said. He dragged Neville up the stairs and along the basement corridor. He took him into a section of the department where the were holding cells for the criminals were, alongside the isolation rooms for Aurors who needed to cool down. There were 5, and they were all empty at the moment. They were basically just store cupboards with entirely white walls and a small flap which food and water could be passed through. He threw all of the members of the team into them, and stalked back towards the main department to deal with Draco bloody Malfoy.

* * *

"Right Malfoy. Let's talk," Harry said after he had walked into his office and slammed the door shut behind him. He kicked his chair out from behind his desk and put it in front of Malfoy with a loud thump. He sat down in it and leant back, fixing the blonde with an intense stare.

"You are in a fucking terrible mood today."

"So are you. Is it because you're harbouring secret feelings for me?" Harry asked bluntly.

"I think you think too much of yourself, Potter," Draco said smoothly, "Just because your gay and I'm…just because I sometimes sleep with men doesn't mean I want to screw you."

"Good," Harry said simply, "So why are your team constantly winding you and I up about it then?"

"Because they are blind fools," Draco drawled, "They all know I have a history dating both sexes and they either know or suspect that you're gay. It's a natural leap, there is no truth in it."

"I know, I think I would have noticed if I'd slept with you," Harry quipped, "And for your information those blind fools are all in isolation cells."

"You put my entire team in isolation because you were having a bad day?" Draco asked angrily.

"No," Harry replied calmly, "I put them in isolation because they all questioned my authority and my ability to remain objective. But in reality, you are the one struggling to remain objective, Malfoy."

"I'm the one struggling to remain objective?" Draco asked quietly, "I seem to remember that _you_ are the Auror with the reputation for never being caught. Yet since you began working with my team you have been caught, _twice._ What do you expect me to make of that?"

"A nickname is just a nickname," Harry said simply, "I'm an Auror who doesn't get caught very often but I have been caught. I spent 6 months as a captive in an underground prison in Ukraine, the two times working with your team were a breeze in comparison. And I thought you would understand more than anyone else why I had to let myself get caught the last time."

Draco gave a stiff nod, "I would have done the same for Teddy."

Harry nodded back, "Malfoy, I am being objective, trust me. I admit that I made a mistake with this case with Teddy, but it was one mistake."

Draco smirked slightly, "And you're sure it has nothing to do with your feelings for me?"

"You think I have feelings for you Malfoy?" Harry asked scoffed, "You're a ratty, arrogant, slimy bastard."

"The feeling is mutual, scarhead," Draco said disdainfully.

Harry shook his head, "You do realise that I'm your boss, don't you?"

"I realise, but I don't care," Draco said matter of factly.

"Well maybe you should," Harry said, "Because I can easily put you in isolation with your team."

"Fine," Draco said as he got to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Harry snapped as he got to his feet too.

"To isolation, with my team," Draco said simply.

"Oh fuck me, are you serious?" Harry asked with a slightly crazed laugh, "Fucking hell, are you sure you weren't a Hufflepuff? You're pretty loyal for a fucking snake!"

"Surprisingly enough Potter, 4 in 5 students are hat stalls!" Draco hissed as he got in Harry's face, "Maybe I should have ended up in Hufflepuff, then I wouldn't have had to deal with being your arch enemy for fucking years! It got tiring!"

"Yeah well watching my back for you wasn't exactly fun," Harry snapped, "And I was a hat stall too, for Slytherin! So you better watch _your_ back Malfoy, I can be just as sneaky as you when I need to be."

Draco took another step towards him, "Bodybind me then Potter."

"I'd rather drag you there by myself," Harry said, his glare boring into Draco's.

Draco raised his hands in defeat and mischief sparkled in his dark eyes, "Do it," He dared him.

In seconds Harry had grabbed Draco and pulled his hands behind his back, "Fine," He hissed in the blonde's ear as he kicked open the door of his office and dragged Draco through it much to the surprise, and amusement, of his team. When he reached the isolation rooms he threw Draco into the last one, and slammed the door shut.

Harry took a breath to try and calm himself down as he left the isolation room corridor and stormed in the direction of Susan's office, his robes billowing behind him as he stalked past his co-workers. He passed the cubicles of the Aurors who worked in pairs rather and teams. At the end of the corridor he reached Susan's office, and he knocked so hard that the glass in the door shattered.

"Come in Potter," Susan said in exasperation.

Harry pulled the door open and slammed it shut, "Reparo!" He snapped at the door.

The glass flew back into the pane and Harry turned to the redhead who was sitting behind her desk with a look of bemusement fixed on her face.

"I have no Team 0."

Susan merely raised an eyebrow at him, and said, "Explain."

"They are in isolation."

"All 5 of them?" Susan asked calmly.

"Yes."

"Why?" Susan asked.

"Because they questioned my authority, and they were winding Malfoy up which was affecting his work and therefore affecting my ability to work with him," Harry explained angrily, "That team only exist because of me, they answer to me, I am a Class I Auror, they are Class III or Classless!"

Susan surveyed Harry with interest, "And they questioned your authority, how?"

"Why does that matter?" Harry asked irritably.

"Because I need to understand if the punishment was justified," Susan said calmly, "How did they question your authority?"

"I accused them of not being objective, of thinking of personal commitments and attachments," Harry told her, "And they disagreed with me. They accused _me_ of not being objective."

"So you put them in isolation," Susan as she got to her feet and walked around the desk.

"Yes."

Susan leant against the front of her desk and surveyed him, "I think that punishment was far too harsh. I think the team have a very good point, you have not been objective recently."

Harry's anger flared up, "They never should have questioned me. I swear sometimes they forget _I'm_ Head Auror! And I have being doing my job perfectly well! How can you accuse me of not being objective?"

"Are you questioning my authority, Auror Potter?" Susan asked calmly.

"Yes, I am," Harry snapped, "Because you're wrong! I do not let my personal feelings get in the way of my work-"

"Enough!" Susan said sharply, "As acting Head of the DMLE, I am _your_ superior. You are merely Head Auror, there are ranks above you in this department!"

"I'm aware of that, but-"

"I said, enough," Susan said briskly, "You are questioning the authority of your superior, Auror Potter. By your logic, the punishment for this is isolation."

Harry faltered, "What?"

Susan walked towards him, grabbed his hands and with wandless, wordless magic she bound them behind his back.

Harry looked up and caught her eye, "Are you serious Susan?"

"Deadly serious," Susan said quietly.

"Come on," Harry said in disbelief, "I'm the Head Auror!"

"And I'm still your superior," Susan said firmly, " _I_ am being objective. I am giving you the same punishment you gave the others for not being objective."

"You're seriously going to put me in isolation?" Harry asked angrily, "Who is going to run things, while I'm in there, hmm?"

"Don't worry yourself about that, you aren't irreplaceable," Susan said smoothly. She opened the door of her office and marched Harry past the Auror cubicles. They all tried to get a closer look and the chatter started up the second they were out of the corridor.

"Susan, you are joking, aren't you?" Harry asked as she pushed him in the direction of his team's office.

"Do I look like I'm joking, Potter?" Susan asked calmly as she paused at the doorway to his teams office.

"Auror Weasley!" Susan barked.

Ron jumped and turned around, "Madam Bones," He said politely as his eyes caught Harry's.

"As you can see, Auror Potter, is in a spot of trouble at the moment," Susan said simply, "Therefore as of this moment you are acting Head Auror."

"What?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"You heard me, Auror Weasley," Susan said.

"Yes, Madam Bones," Ron said with a slightly scared nod.

Susan nodded curtly at him before elbowing Harry in the back and marching him towards the holding and isolation cells.

"They're all full," Harry reminded her, "So I know you're bluffing."

"I guess that just means you're going to have to share," Susan said dryly.

Harry narrowed his eyes at her, "With who?"

"Well since you seem to want to spend so much time with him, you can go in with Auror Malfoy," Susan said with a slightly wicked smile.

"Oh come on," Harry began to complain, "This is bullshit Susan, come on!"

Susan looked into all of the doors and opened isolation room 5.

"Susan, you aren't going to seriously chuck me in here, I'm the bloody Head Auror!" Harry exclaimed.

Susan gave him a shove into the room and shut the door. She peered through the flap and said, "You are an Auror under my command, and you _need_ to learn to be objective!"

* * *

After Susan left the flap that let in any amount of light to the cell banged shut, and the room fell into semi darkness. There was one long, thin candle to light each isolation room and when it died, you were left in darkness. It was all part of the punishment.

"That went really well for you Potter."

"Fuck you Malfoy!" Harry shouted as he kicked one of the walls hard, and then groaned in pain and sank down onto the floor. Susan had taken his wand because in isolation you weren't allowed to use magic.

Draco opened his mouth, "Potter-"

"Don't even fucking talk to me!" Harry hissed.

Draco shook his head, but fell silent and Harry seethed quietly to himself.

Hours passed in silence, they were brought some bread and water around dinner time. But they had no idea how time was passing, the minutes and the hours seemed to tick on and on, and the longer Harry sat in the cell the less he seethed. His anger slowly dissipated and he was instead left to reflect. Susan was right, Draco was right, _everyone_ was right. He wasn't his normal objective self, he had let feelings get in the way, he had done stupid things, he had made little mistakes because of Draco, because he had been worried about Draco.

"Malfoy…"

"I thought you didn't want to talk."

"I changed my mind," Harry sighed.

Draco fixed him with a look through the dying candle light as it began to flicker and spark.

"Everyone is right," Harry said quietly, "I haven't been objective."

"Neither have I," Draco admitted.

"I've let my feelings get in the way," Harry sighed, "My feelings…for you…I've let myself get worried and scared. I've made mistakes because of that. I don't run into hostage situations like an idiot, but I did…and I've…I've never done that, for anyone."

Harry was looking at the ground as he spoke, but Draco hadn't taken his eyes off of the dark haired man who was sitting across from him. The room was so small that with their backs against each wall their legs were touching, they had both noticed but neither of them had moved.

"I let my feelings interfere too…when Teddy was kidnapped," Draco sighed, "You were right, I should have stayed but I wanted to help. I couldn't stand sitting around waiting while your life was in danger."

"And I lied, about Teddy needing you," Harry said honestly, "I didn't want you to get hurt, that was why I ordered you to stay."

"I didn't want you to die," Draco said as it all spilled out, "I didn't…I don't know…I don't think I could handle losing you, Potter."

Harry sighed and rested his head against the wall, "How the hell did we get to this point? How did we go from fighting on different sides of the war to…this?"

"I've been trying to be a good person for a while now," Draco said as the candle gave up and they were plunged into darkness, "And it hadn't exactly worked…not until you arrested me and put me on this team. It's the first time in my life I've felt like I have a home and a family. I finally feel like I'm doing the right thing…and this _thing_ with you…I don't want it to screw that up."

Harry sighed in the darkness, "Come over here," He mumbled.

Draco crawled across the room and leant against the same wall as Harry. Their shoulders touched, and Harry's hand somehow found Draco's in the darkness. Draco didn't object, he didn't attempt to move it away either.

"This has been inevitable for a little while," Harry said quietly, "For me anyway."

"Has it?"

"6th year," Harry said thoughtfully.

"When you stalked me you mean?" Draco asked, amusement flickering in his voice.

"I didn't stalk you," Harry scoffed, "I thought you were a Death Eater and I happened to be right. But…I saw a different side of you that year, I saw how scared you were and I saw how clever you were. After the war things fell apart and I tried to make things right, to make them normal. But Ginny and I were a train wreck, and even Ron and Hermione split up eventually…we all tried to make things go back to the way they were but so much had changed…the only thing that made me happy for a long time was this job…and chasing you."

"You _were_ pretty eager to arrest me," Draco said in amusement.

"Considering I vouched for you after the war, I know," Harry laughed.

"I _knew_ it was you who vouched for me," Draco said loudly, "I knew it!"

"I'll be honest, you did make my life hell when I was a trainee Auror. We always nearly caught you and it was bloody annoying. But I'd had this idea to create your team, and then about 2 days later we got this big tip about your location so I ran it by Susan, about making you the leader. She said she trusted my judgement but that if you agreed, I would be responsible for you," Harry told him, "And you agreed, and it worked so-"

Harry was so caught up in his rant or his apology, or whatever it was, that he hadn't even noticed that Draco's hand was no longer underneath his. In the darkness he felt Draco's hand on his cheek. He turned Harry's face to the side, a little forcefully, and the next thing Harry knew Draco's lips were crashing down on his. He was helpless to stop it really, he had thought about it far too much recently. Every time Draco got in his face Harry had just wanted to grab his smug face and kiss him as hard as he could. So he responded to Draco's kiss with as much vigour. It wasn't a _nice_ kiss, it was a rough kiss. It was full of bitterness, irritation and want, but it was fucking perfect. There was just so much lust there that Harry had to put an end to it when he felt the first tingling signs of arousal. That was when he snapped back to reality and remembered his senses.

"What do we do now?" Harry whispered through the darkness.

Draco was silent and then he said, "Nothing."

"What?"

"Nothing," Draco said coolly, "We're only saying these things because we're stuck in a stupid dark cell together. We work together, there is nothing else to it."

"Draco-"

"Nothing happens Potter," Draco said more firmly, "I won't ignore you, I will work with you but nothing is going to happen between us."

"I should have known you were a fucking coward," Harry muttered as he moved himself to the other side of the room from Draco.

* * *

At some point in the night Harry and Draco fell asleep, and they were rudely awakened in the morning when the door was pulled open and the bright light from the corridor outside shone into the tiny room.

Draco made a noise like a slapped cat, and Harry peered through the brightness to see Susan standing in the doorway.

"Good morning boys."

Draco groaned and squinted into the light as Susan threw them their wands. Harry caught his deftly, but Draco's rolled along the floor towards him. Harry pushed himself to his feet and kicked Draco unceremoniously, "Get up."

"Doing it," Draco muttered as he grabbed his wand and pushed himself to his feet.

Harry glanced Draco's way, "Nice hair, Malfoy."

Draco's cheeks flushed and he did a quick glamour charm to tame his hair.

"Have you had time to think about what you did?" Susan asked with a smirk as she leant against the doorway.

"If I ever had a Mother I imagine that's what she'd sound like," Harry said as he ran his hands through his hair.

"I've let the rest of your team out, Malfoy," Susan said, ignoring Harry's comment, "And I've instructed them that there will be an important meeting at 9am this morning. Attendance is compulsory."

"What time is it now?" Draco yawned.

"8.45pm," Susan said with a slightly wicked smirk, "So you better sort yourselves out and get a move on."

"She's evil," Draco muttered as Susan clicked away from them, in her killer heels.

"I'm quite glad she said no," Harry said as he began to do some glamour charms to straighten himself out, "Draco, about last night-"

"I told you last night Potter, it meant nothing-"

"No, it didn't, it meant something-"

"Oh for the love of Salazar," Draco snapped, "I didn't want to have to do this, but I don't see any alternative."

"Do what?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes.

Draco grabbed Harry's shoulders and looked into his eyes, and then he said it.

"Obliviate."

It was the only sort of wandless magic he could do and it was because Snape had taught him a lot about memory magic and mind reading. Harry's eyes briefly went blank and when he opened them he frowned, "We're going to be late for that meeting, aren't we?"

"Probably," Draco replied as they stepped into the corridor.

"I don't remember much after Susan chucked me in that cell."

"That is because you were unconscious all night," Draco smirked, "I punched you."

"You knocked me out?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"You had it coming after what you said to me in your office," Draco defended himself.

"Did you miss the part about me being your boss?" Harry asked with a shake of his head, "And why were you avoiding me, by the way?"

"I wasn't avoiding you, I just don't like hospitals," Draco replied, "I tend to avoid them at all costs. Once I knew you weren't dead I didn't see any point visiting you."

"And the way you reacted yesterday?" Harry asked.

"I was having a bad day, and you were pissing me off," Draco shrugged, "Although I probably shouldn't have knocked you out."

"Is that an apology?" Harry asked in amusement.

Draco's smirk returned, "It's the closest thing you'll ever get to one."

* * *

The big meeting at 9am _was_ a big meeting. Susan had gathered everyone in the main section of the DMLE, the large hall filled with Auror cubicles. Everyone was standing around talking, drinking coffee or eating. Draco's team and Harry's team were huddled together close to the front of the group as Harry and Draco walked in. They slipped away to join their teams and as they did Susan climbed onto a table gracefully and muttered, 'sonorus', as she pointed her wand to her throat.

"Attention all!"

The hall went silent as Susan addressed them, "I have a few important announcements for you all today. First of all, I was informed this morning that I am no longer Acting Head of the Department. I have been made Head of the DMLE."

There was some cheering, and clapping, and Susan let the ruckus die down before she spoke again, "But on a more sinister note, I have to once more remind you all of the dangers of forming personal connections in our line of work. In the field it is very dangerous to form personal attachments. I am aware of several relationships among Aurors, and I must remind you that the rule is not only against inter-team or inter-Auror relationships. It is against inter-department relationships. You are not supposed to date anyone who works in the justice department. I will most certainly not name and shame, however I will warn you all that after a series of unfortunate events this rule will be more tightly enforced in the future. This department has earned itself a good name since the revolutionizing of the Ministry after the war and as it's new Head, I fully intend to keep it that way. Thanks for taking the time to listen to me. Now it's time to get back to work!"

Susan jumped down from the table and the group gradually began to disband and make their way back to their own cubicles or offices.

Harry was on his way back to his own office when Draco shouted his name, "Potter!"

He spun around and waited as the blonde walked towards him, "We could use your help. With that murder case. You're right, we haven't done one before, I don't know the protocol, I don't even know where to start."

Harry smiled slightly, "I'll do what I can," He promised as he walked towards the basement with Draco, "But I'm on desk duty so I can't go out in the field with you."

* * *

"Neville, stop avoiding me! We have to have this talk!" Daphne hissed.

"Are you really going to break up with me in a broom cupboard?" Neville asked bitterly.

Daphne glared at him, "You know I don't have a choice! You heard her speech!"

"Yes, I did," Neville said coolly, "And I've been expecting this for the last 4 hours."

"This job is important to me," Daphne said hotly, "I don't expect you to understand that or believe that since you think I'm some cheap whore-"

"I have never thought you were a cheap whore!" Neville snapped, "And I have never said anything demeaning to you. I like you for your personality Daphne and I don't care about your past."

Daphne sighed irritably, "Look Neville, the point I'm trying to make is that this job is getting me back on track. My Father is actually starting to speak to me again and I really feel like I'm changing. I feel like the bitterness is slipping away and contentment is becoming a concept I'm aware of. I like you, but I won't risk that for you."

"Fine."

"You say 'fine' but you don't look or sound like you think that's fine," Daphne said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well it is fine," Neville said simply, "Better for the job, right?"

"Exactly," Daphne said as she surveyed Neville's face.

"So it's fine," Neville said as he reached for the door handle, "I'll see you in the office."

* * *

Later on in the day Harry went back to his own team. Draco seized the opportunity to discuss Susan's speech from that morning.

"That speech of Susan's was aimed mostly at us, in case you couldn't figure that out," Draco said matter of factly, "And she's right. Recently we have been letting our standards slip, and it's not just us, Potters team upstairs are in trouble for it too. We need to get back to our best, we need to remember to be professional and objective. It's hard, I know, but if you want to be in this job and in a relationship with somebody else who works here, you have got to learn to leave your personal life at home."

"That is a bit rich, coming from you," Daphne pointed out.

"I know I can't talk, and that's why Potter and I got chucked in isolation as well last night. We've worked out our issues, and that's the last I'll say on it. When we're together outside work, talking about our personal life is fine, but at work it just isn't on," Draco said calmly.

"I can't argue with your logic," Neville said, "Daphne and I talked this morning after Susan's speech. There is nothing to worry about, we ended it."

Draco could see Neville's regret about that as he turned to Eddie, "And you and Dana?"

"Not a problem," Eddie said honestly, "We hardly ever work together. We're willing to risk getting found out but we're going to keep a low profile."

"I'm good right? Since my girlfriend like legally represents dragons and shit?"

The slightly tense air was broken and filled with laughter at Theo's comment.

"Granger doesn't even work in this department, you're fine Theo," Draco said in amusement, "And is that really what you think her job is, legally representing dragons?"

"I have no idea what she does, to be honest," Theo grinned, "She talks about dragons a lot and sometimes she mentions spewing house elves. I just think she's cute when she's in a rant."

"Theodore Nott, in a relationship," Daphne said with a shake of her head, "And using words like 'cute'. I never thought I'd see the day."

"Well, you know what they say, there's a first time for everything," Theo laughed.

Draco smiled, "Alright then. Are we all back to normal?"

There was general nodding and smiling, and Draco breathed a sigh of relief as he began giving out orders for the day ahead.

* * *

"You've been avoiding me all day."

"I've not seen you," Draco lied to Susan as she joined him in his new favourite place, well, almost. It was a patio area where he could smoke, and it was directly below Harry's balcony, which if he was honest, he still preferred.

"You've seen me about 3 times and every time you've ducked away," Susan said as she lit up a cigarette, "Do you know Malfoy? The isolation cells have observation charms on them?"

Draco's calm façade flickered slightly, "Do they?"

"Yes, they do," Susan said matter of factly, "So for example, if you were to kiss someone in one of them, the Head of Department would see it, in their office. And as I was Acting Head at the time, I was in my office."

Draco opened his mouth to argue, but Susan raised a hand to stop him, "And I also heard you erase his memory."

Draco closed his mouth, and remained silent as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"I'm not going to condone it, or okay it," Susan said honestly, "But you and Harry are two of the best in the department. I really need you to be working together so I have got to know Malfoy. Why did you erase his memory?"

"Because, I can't…" Draco trailed off with a shake of his head, "He's too good for me, alright? He's Harry Potter, he saved the entire world, and he's still got this innocence about him which makes no sense after everything he's been through. I'm a criminal, no matter what I've done to redeem myself, no matter that you all call me an Auror, I'm still a criminal and I've done terrible things."

"Don't you think that's Harry's choice to make for himself?" Susan asked, "You shouldn't have made it for him."

"You agree with me though," Draco challenged her.

"I don't think you're the best person for him," Susan agreed, "He's a destructive person, and with you he smokes more and drinks more."

"So you won't tell him, about the memory charm?" Draco asked quickly.

"It isn't my place to do that," Susan replied as she threw her cigarette down on the concrete ground and stamped it out, "And it seems like you two are working better together now than you were before so no, I won't tell him."

Draco nodded, and breathed a sigh of relief, "Good."

"But I'll be keeping an eye on this team," Susan said carefully, "I know you are authorized to use different methods, but that doesn't mean you can completely escape the rules of the law."

"Understood."

 **TBC :)  
**


	11. A Kappa Out of Water

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 11 - A Kappa Out of Water **

The morning after the big announcement was frosty when Draco walked into the basement. Neville and Daphne's desks had mysteriously switched locations so that they were further away from each other. They both had their heads down while they did paperwork which was a rare sight in itself. Eddie was murmuring to Theo and they kept shooting glances in the direction of their co-workers.

Draco sighed as he pushed the heavy metal door open fully to allow his guest entry to the basement. Hermione stepped into the basement and Theo smiled brightly at her as Draco called his team to attention.

"Everybody listen up!"

All eyes were instantly on him.

"What are you doing down here Hermione?" Theo asked.

"I'm going be working with you on a case," Hermione said honestly, "It involves a magical creature, a very dangerous one, and you guys are not authorised to capture that creature."

Daphne leant forward, "Okay, you've caught my interest. This sounds like an interesting case."

"It is," Draco said as he opened the brown file in his hands, "As Potter was saying yesterday, this is our first murder case so he's given me a brief masterclass in the protocol. Our victim's name is Andrea Michaelson. She worked at the Wizarding Sea Life Centre in London."

"How did she die?" Neville asked.

"We aren't sure about the exact cause of death. What's left of her body is being examined by the coroner in St. Mungo's."

"What do you mean by 'what's left of' her?" Eddie asked with a frown.

Hermione grimaced, "She was found in a private swimming pool on her boss's estate. She was fed on by Kappa's. We think they escaped to the nearby lake and they have to be found. They should never be on private ground in the United Kingdom, the law states that they are only allowed to be brought here for teaching purposes or to display in an aquarium which frankly I disagree with anyway-"

"We know," Draco said with a slight smile, "But the point is, we aren't sure if she was killed and thrown in the pool or if she fell in."

"She might have been pushed," Theo pointed out.

"Or she might have committed suicide," Neville said.

"Exactly," Draco said, "So we need to get to the bottom of this. Team 1 are busy working on a case upstairs so this one has been thrown our way. After the events of the last few days I wouldn't be surprised if it was a test so please try and stay focused."

"We will," Daphne said, "What next?"

"Next we divide and conquer. Someone has to talk to the victim's family and find out if there was anyone in her life who would want to hurt her," Draco said, "And someone has to dig into her files and uncover everything they can about this woman. I suggest that you and Eddie do that, Theo."

"We'll go talk to the victim's family then," Neville said as he pushed himself to his feet.

"What am I supposed to do?" Daphne objected.

"Go with Granger to the crime scene," Draco replied as he pulled on his Auror robes, "You are looking for anything out of the ordinary and I'm sure Granger will need help tracking down those Kappa's. Talk to the victims boss when you're there, I'm sure he knows more than he's letting on."

Daphne smiled slightly, "Yes boss," she said entirely seriously.

Draco smiled back, "Use the communication bracelets if you have any news. Otherwise, we'll meet back here at lunch time and re-evaluate the situation."

* * *

"You've never done this before," Neville said as he and Draco stood outside a large country house in Dorset.

Draco blew out a breath, "No...I can see why murder cases are more difficult than others."

"There's a very large human factor," Neville agreed, "Do you want me to take the lead?"

"No," Draco said as he stepped forward and knocked on the door, "The best way to learn is to throw yourself in at the deep end."

"I bet Andrea Michaelson wouldn't have agreed," Neville muttered.

"Don't make jokes about the dead Neville, it's not cool."

"Yes boss," Neville smirked as the door was pulled open by a dark haired woman in her mid-50's.

"You must be Mrs Michaelson. I'm Draco Malfoy and this is my colleague, Neville Longbottom. We're with the Auror department," Draco said smoothly as he and Neville flashed their badges.

Mrs Michaelson gave them a stiff nod, "Come in," she said, holding the door ajar.

They followed her into the lounge and sat down. Draco looked a little uneasy but he maintained his composure, "I'm afraid we have to ask you some questions about your daughter Mrs Michaelson."

"I know," Mrs Michaelson said, her voice thick with emotion, "I lost my son to the war. I know how a post-murder investigation goes, Mr Malfoy. What do you need to know?"

Draco carried on, "Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Andrea? An ex-boyfriend or a lover, perhaps?"

Mrs Michaelson sighed, "I know of a lot of people who would have liked to see Andrea suffer. She enjoyed her work at the sea life centre, she believed in it but not everybody saw it that way. There are a lot of people who think the place is cruel, who think the creatures are forced into small tanks or neglected. Andrea loved those creatures, she fed them and trained them and they were happy but that didn't stop the horrible letters she received."

"Did these letters include death threats?" Neville asked curiously.

Mrs Michaelson nodded, "They are all kept on record at the sea life centre. You can ask Jack Davidson for the files."

"Mr Davidson is Andrea's boss, isn't he?" Draco asked.

Mrs Michaelson nodded once more, "Yes."

"Do you know why Andrea was at his house when she was murdered?" Draco asked bluntly.

"It was a party," Mrs Michaelson said, "Everyone from the centre was there. I think she said that Jack was going to make a big announcement."

"Alright," Draco said, "Thank you for your time Mrs Michaelson. We'll be in touch if we have any follow-up questions."

"Oh, there is just one last question," Neville said as he and Draco got to their feet, "Was there a man in Andrea's life?"

"Not as far as I know," Mrs Michaelson said, "And Andrea was always very honest with me."

"Thank you for your time then Mrs Michaelson," Neville echoed as he and Draco left the house.

* * *

"So, I heard you and Neville-"

"Merlin, Harry was right about you being nosy," Daphne scoffed before Hermione could finish, "Yes, I broke things off with Neville. I guess you missed our new head of department's speech about relationships being entirely off limits."

"Oh trust me, I heard about it," Hermione said as they trudged over the grass in a large country estate, "Theo told me all about it."

"So that's official now?" Daphne asked.

Hermione chuckled, "And _I'm_ nosy?"

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Theo is just very unpredictable, that's all."

"I know all about unpredictable men," Hermione said with an amused glance at Daphne, "I dated Ron for long enough after all. Theo is just a breath of fresh air and at the moment that's a wonderful thing."

"Well I'm pretty sure this is his first relationship since Hannah Abbott broke his heart in 5th year," Daphne laughed, "So he must really like you."

"Hannah Abbott broke his heart?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah," Daphne said, "But I'll let him tell you that story for himself."

"I'm intrigued now," Hermione admitted as they turned a corner by a huge, extravagant house and reached a magical barrier. They stepped through it into the crime scene and Daphne made a face, "This is where they found her?"

Hermione nodded, "I told you it wasn't pleasant."

The water in the pool was still stained red with the blood of Andrea Michaelson. Drops of dried blood stained the steps leading from the pool down to the lake. It was a very short distance.

"I think you were right about those Kappa's escaping to the lake," Daphne said.

"They won't be able to survive there long," Hermione said, "Kappa's usually reside in shallow water. Rivers and ponds are more suited to them."

"And swimming pools," Daphne said darkly.

"Apparently so."

"I don't understand how the Kappa's got here in the first place," Daphne frowned, "I mean it must have been the head of the sea life centre who brought them here, right?"

"Not necessarily," Hermione said, "The night that Andrea was killed a party was being held up at the house by Jack Davidson, the head of the centre. Almost everyone here worked with magical creatures and had the ability to bring them here."

"But why would someone go to that much effort to kill a worker from the centre?" Daphne asked as she surveyed the scene slowly.

"I think someone was trying to make a statement. I just can't work out what that statement was yet."

"Well in that case," Daphne said with an amused sparkle in her eye, "I think we need to have a little chat with Jack Davidson."

* * *

"Is this the only place like this in Britain?" Draco asked Neville as they stepped into the Wizarding Sea Life Centre.

"Yeah," Neville said with a slight frown, "It has divided opinion since it opened 3 years ago. The whole point of it was to allow British wizards to see the kinds of creatures that live all over the world without travelling all over the world."

"But it's divided opinion because some of those creatures shouldn't have been taken away from their original habitat?" Draco guessed.

Neville nodded, "Newt Scamander did something similar when he was discovering these creatures. He kept them in habitats suited to their own in a magical briefcase. Times have changed since then though, these days the general consensus is that it's against creature rights. A lot of activists want to see this place shut down."

"Enough to kill one of its workers?"

"Possibly," Neville admitted.

Draco sighed, "Well let's see what Mr. Jack Davidson has to say about that," he said as the man they were waiting for stepped out into the lobby.

Jack Davidson looked to be in his mid-40's with greying brown hair and a very tired looking face. He had clearly been handsome in his younger days and some of that still shone through now. He smiled at them, "Gentlemen, will you please accompany me to my office?" he said.

Draco and Neville followed him into his office which was at the end of a very long corridor. Once he had shut the door he offered them both seats.

"I am sure you know why we are here Mr. Davidson," Draco said.

"It's about Andrea, I know," Jack Davidson said, "I already answered the Aurors questions after they found her body."

"Well the case has been passed onto my team so we will have to ask those questions again," Draco said simply, "You found Andrea's body, didn't you?"

"No, my wife did," Jack said, "And she's still horrified. I had to send her to therapy, the way that Andrea was killed...it's horrific."

"Those Kappa's should never have been out of this centre," Neville said, fixing Jack with a stare, "So how did they get into your swimming pool Mr. Davidson?"

"Like I told the other Aurors, I have no idea. I certainly did not put them there and they did not come from this centre. We have a family of 6 Kappa's, all of which are accounted for," Jack said.

"Is there anyway somebody could have taken them out last night and put them back in their tank this morning?" Draco asked.

"No, we have tight surveillance charms here," Jack said confidently, "We have to because of the nature of some of the animals we keep here."

"Well we will need copies of the images captured by those surveillance charms," Draco said, "And we also need to see copies of all the letters you or your staff have received containing death threats."

"I can certainly get all of that for you," Jack said, "I want to co-operate with you Aurors here. I liked Andrea, she was a hard worker and she loved the work we do here. What happened to her was disgusting."

Draco nodded, "Andrea's Mother told us that you were planning to make a big announcement the night that Andrea was killed. What was that announcement?"

"Oh it wasn't anything big at all," Jack said with a wave of his hand, "Just that there would be pay rises in the coming year."

Draco accepted this answer, but Neville was still looking at Jack Davidson suspiciously, "I have a couple more questions for you Mr. Davidson. The legislation for this centre states that you cannot house creatures here that are above XXX in the danger distinction. By that standard you shouldn't be allowed to have any Kappa's here."

"They are here on a touring exhibition," Jack said, "Next week they will be heading to their next location which I think is somewhere in the US. That's the only reason we are allowed to have them in this centre at all. Just like when the Loch Ness Kelpie went on tour last year."

"In a tank far too small for it," Neville said firmly.

Jack sighed, "Oh don't tell me you're a crazy activist too? It's a shapeshifter, it could have become a fish and had plenty of room!"

Draco cleared his throat, "Debating the ethics of this centre isn't our job Mr. Davidson. Finding out who killed Andrea Michaelson is, can we have those images and letters please?"

"Of course."

* * *

 _Knock. Knock._

The door to Jack Davidson's house opened, but it was not a man standing in the doorway. Instead a woman in her mid-40's peered out at Hermione and Daphne.

"Hi Mrs Davidson," Hermione said politely, "I'm Hermione Granger, I spoke with you and your husband briefly last night. This is my colleague Daphne Greengrass from the Auror office. Can we come in and speak with you?"

Mrs Davidson nodded and Hermione and Daphne followed her into the kitchen which had a dining area. As she busied herself with making tea Hermione asked, "Is your husband at home today Mrs Davidson?"

"No, and please call me Maria. Mrs Davidson makes me sound so old," Maria said with the hint of a smile.

Daphne smiled, "Could we ask you a few questions then Maria?"

Maria nodded and set the tea down on the table. She sat down and the others noticed her hands shaking slightly.

"I understand you discovered Andrea's body, Maria," Hermione said gently.

Maria nodded, "It was a horrific sight...truly horrific."

Hermione patted her hand, "I completely understand. But my colleague and I were hoping you could help us find out who did this to Andrea."

"You think it was Jack, don't you?"

"Actually, we are wondering if your Husband was the intended target," Daphne said honestly, "The attack happened on the grounds of his home and if this was done by an activist then it is more likely they would aim to hurt the owner of the centre rather than a worker there. Unless you know of any connection between Andrea and your Husband?"

Maria laughed bitterly, "Connection? Are you joking? They were having an affair."

Hermione's eyes widened, "Are you...certain about this?"

"He was certainly sleeping with someone he worked with," Maria said, that same bitter tone still in her voice, "He was in that office all of the time, making secret floo calls and the like. I always thought it was Andrea, she seemed awkward every time Jack had a party here and she avoided me like the plague."

"Would your Husband have had any reason to hurt Andrea?" Daphne asked.

"No, I think he actually loved her," Maria said with a shake of her head, "Despite the fact she's young enough to be his daughter. If anyone had a reason to kill her it would have been me."

Hermione froze, but Daphne was the more professional, "Did you kill her?"

Maria laughed, "Do you think I would have said that if I did? I actually liked Andrea and I knew my marriage was over a long time ago. Whoever did kill her is one sick bastard for what he did to her and I hope you find that person."

"We will," Hermione said, "But for the moment, we need your permission to scan the lake. We have to be sure there aren't any Kappa's hiding in there."

"I never want to see one of those vicious beasts again," Maria said distastefully, "So please, go ahead."

They got to their feet and bid her a good day before taking their leave. Once they were outside and out of earshot Hermione asked, "Did you believe her?"

Daphne nodded, "She seems to have known for a while. There's no reason why she would have killed Andrea now. If she had done it would have been simple, she wouldn't have used Kappa's."

"You're right," Hermione sighed, "But then who would?"

"Someone really sick," Daphne said as they began to walk in the direction of the lake once more.

* * *

"Wow, you two have been busy," Draco said when he and Neville walked into the basement.

"Well you told us to gather intel," Eddie said with a grin.

"Yeah, good job," Neville agreed, depositing a holder full of cups of coffee on the nearest desk.

"Do I smell coffee?"

The others turned as Daphne and Hermione walked into the basement, both reaching for the coffee instantly.

Theo snorted in amusement, "Perfect timing, we were just being admired for our hard work."

"Speaking of that hard work, let's hear what you found out," Draco said, leaning against his desk and looking at a white board which was full of information.

"Andrea Michaelson, 22 years old. Went to Hogwarts, was a Hufflepuff and has always loved working with magical creatures. She got a job at the sea life centre virtually straight out of school," Theo rattled off.

"And the coroner's report came back too," Eddie said as he pinned up a picture of Andrea, "She was killed between 10pm and 11pm two nights ago."

"Which would have been right in the middle of the party," Neville cut in.

"That ties in with Maria Davidson finding her body at 11.30pm when she went outside to check the guests had all left," Hermione said as she surveyed the board.

"The coroner also determined the cause of death. Prior to being attacked by the Kappa's she had a large cut to her lip and a burn on her back which looked like it had been caused by a stunning charm."

"So she was unconscious when she fell into the kappa infested water," Daphne realised, "That explains why nobody at the party heard anything unusual."

"At least she wasn't eaten alive by the Kappa's," Hermione sighed.

"This does mean that this is now a murder case," Draco said, "She was stunned first, this wasn't suicide and it wasn't an accident."

The others nodded sombrely, and Draco continued, "Talking to Andrea's Mother led us to her boss, Jack Davidson. We have images from surveillance charms that I need everyone to start looking at. We also have a whole stack of letters addressed to staff at the centre and the centre generally, several of which include death threats so we're going to have to make a start on them soon."

"What did you think of Jack Davidson?" Hermione asked curiously.

"We think he's hiding something," Neville said.

"He was very vague about a big announcement he was supposed to make at the party that night. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to be about pay rises," Draco added.

"Well we had less luck at the house," Hermione admitted, "I scanned that entire lake three times, there were no magical creatures inside it."

"I know," Draco said, "That's because they didn't go to the lake. The Kappa's were taken from the centre to kill Andrea and then returned there. That's why we need to look over the surveillance charms footage from that night. If someone took them they will show up on there, or there will be evidence that the charms were tampered with."

"We'll get on it right away," Eddie said, "But Draco, when you spoke to Andrea's Mother, did she say anything about a boyfriend?"

"We asked, she said she wasn't aware of anyone," Draco replied, "Why?"

"She was definitely involved with a man," Theo said, "Because she was about a month pregnant when she died."

Hermione and Daphne shared a glance.

"What do you two know?" Neville asked curiously.

"We spoke to Jack Davidson's wife when we were at the crime scene," Daphne admitted, "And she seemed pretty sure that her Husband had been having an affair with Andrea."

Draco's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Neville. "I think we need to have another chat with Jack Davidson in a more formal setting."

"I think you're right," Neville said.

* * *

"You weren't entirely truthful with us earlier Jack."

Jack Davidson rolled his eyes, "So you brought me to a holding cell?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at the man, "You are a suspect in a murder investigation."

"I already told you, I didn't kill Andrea!" Jack snapped.

"We find that hard to believe," Neville said simply, "We know you were having an affair with Andrea and we know that she was pregnant when she died."

"What?" Jack blanched, "I was not having an affair with Andrea!"

"Your wife seems fairly certain that you were," Neville pointed out.

"Oh for the love of Merlin!" Jack cried, "I am having an affair, but not with Andrea!"

"With who then?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes at Jack.

"With Rebecca, my admin assistant at the centre," Jack said.

"And she'll confirm that if we ask her?"

Jack nodded, "Does that mean I'm off the hook?"

"Not entirely," Draco said, "Our colleagues did some digging into you Jack. Why didn't you tell us there were creatures rights activists at your house the night Andrea died?"

"Because I didn't find it relevant," Jack admitted, "They showed up and threw eggs at the house, chanting and waving their posters like they always do. They left as soon as my security guys came out of the house."

"You didn't think it was relevant?" Neville asked in disbelief, "They breached the perimeter of your property. Did it never occur to you that one of those activists might have killed Andrea. Death by Kappa is a pretty strong statement about your sea life centre, don't you think?"

"I honestly never thought of it like that before," Jack said.

Draco rolled his eyes, "He's telling the truth. This is a dead end Neville."

"Does that mean I'm off the hook now?" Jack asked hopefully.

"You're off the hook, you can go," Draco said dismissively as he got to his feet.

* * *

"I need a volunteer to go to the sea life centre and talk to Jack Davidson's admin assistant, Rebecca."

Daphne frowned up at Draco, "Uh...why?"

"Jack wasn't having an affair with Andrea, he was having an affair with Rebecca," Draco said irritably, "Which means we need to talk to her. It also means we have to figure out who Andrea was dating because he's a suspect until proven otherwise."

"I'll go with you then," Daphne said.

"Thank you," Draco said, "Theo I want you to come too. We need to talk to everyone who works in that place, we need to know who Andrea was sleeping with. Neville, take Eddie with you and talk to the activist group who crashed the party on the night Andrea was killed. Until we know otherwise they're suspects."

"Got it," Neville said.

* * *

"Are you Rebecca Johnson?"

The young blonde haired woman at the desk looked wary. Her eyes widened, "Uh...yes, I am."

Draco took his badge from his pocket, "I'm Draco Malfoy and this is my colleague Daphne Greengrass, we're from the Auror department."

Rebecca Johnson nodded, "Is this about...about Andrea?"

Draco nodded, "Yes it is. Can we talk somewhere a little more private?"

"Of course," Rebecca said with a nod, "The staff room."

Silently Draco and Daphne followed Rebecca into the staff room which was empty apart from the fish in the tank in the corner of the room.

"We know that you and Jack Davidson are having an affair Rebecca," Daphne said once the door had been closed, "And we know that Jack was going to make a big announcement on the night Andrea was killed. We think the announcement was linked to her death and we know that you know what it was about."

Rebecca swallowed hard, "Jack asked me not to say anything."

"If you don't tell us you are breaking the law," Draco said firmly, "By lying to an Auror."

Rebecca scrunched her face up and sighed.

"It wasn't about pay rises, that's a cover. Isn't it?"

Rebecca nodded, "Jack was going to announce that some things would have to change because of budget cuts."

"What would have to change?" Draco asked.

"There were going to be some changes to the enclosures," Rebecca said slowly, "There were plans to build a new one to house the new creatures we would be bringing in. But that was no longer going to be funded which meant some of the creatures would need to share."

"Did Andrea know about this?"

"Yes," Rebecca said quietly, "Nobody was supposed to know until the party that night. But Andrea found out when she was getting her payslip from Jacks office that night. She found the changes in his drawer and she confronted me at the party."

"And then you killed her," Daphne said.

"No!" Rebecca exclaimed, "I didn't! I told her the truth, I told her that Jack was planning to merge the hippocampus and grindylow tanks."

"How did she react to that news?" Draco asked.

"Well she was angry of course," Rebecca said, "She's crazy about the magical creatures so she really wasn't happy about the tanks being merged. She said the grindylows would get depressed and the hippocampus wouldn't have enough space. She was going to confront Jack about it the next day."

"Well thank you for answering our questions Rebecca," Draco said, trying to mask his irritation. It felt like they weren't getting anywhere, "There's just one last thing. Do you know if Andrea was involved with anyone at the sea life centre?"

"Everyone thought that she was having a fling with Finn," Rebecca replied.

"Finn?"

"He's the guy who feeds all of the creatures here," Rebecca explained, "Finn isn't his real name but that's what everyone calls him. He and Andrea seemed pretty close."

"Thank you Rebecca," Draco said.

"You should look into the activists you know," Rebecca said, "If anyone killed Andrea it was them. They were always sending her death threats, they hate this place."

"We're following that up," Daphne said diplomatically as they left the staff room.

* * *

"So what did you think of Andrea?" Theo asked yet another of the workers at the sea life centre.

Lauren Smith frowned, "Well she worked with the magical creatures and I just work in the café so I didn't see her very much. She loved her job though, the creatures were basically her family."

Theo nodded, "Alright thanks Miss Smith," he said as he prepared to move on to the next co-worker.

Before he could however Draco and Daphne arrived in the cafeteria, "Oh thank Merlin, does that mean we're done?"

"Are you getting anything?" Draco asked.

Theo shook his head, "I'm getting the same thing from everybody I talk to. Andrea was quite shy, she loved the creatures, she loved her job. She was a pleasure to work with, everyone liked her."

"Have you spoken to someone called Finn yet?" Daphne asked.

Theo consulted his list, "No...I don't have a Finn on this list."

"Kevin Finnegan," Draco said, "Finn is his nickname. He feeds the creatures here."

"Oh right, yeah he's in the next section," Theo said as he pointed at the door.

"Well we think he's Andrea's mystery boyfriend so we're going to interview him together," Draco said, "Come on."

Theo rolled his eyes at Daphne as they trekked after the blonde man, "He gets here and we're expected to follow."

"Well he is the boss," Daphne said with an amused grin.

Theo bit back a rude comment, if this case was a test they were all very keen to pass then service as normal could resume within the team. They stepped into a small storage room that stunk of raw fish and came face to face with the mysterious Finn. He looked a similar age to Andrea and he was tall, muscular and dark skinned.

"Kevin Finnegan?"

The man, Kevin, nodded and put down the bucket of live fish that he was holding, "Are you Aurors?"

"Don't even think about running," Daphne said as she stepped forward, her hand twitching next to her wand which was in its holster.

Kevin looked warily between them, "I swear, I didn't kill Andrea."

"We haven't accused you yet," Draco said, surveying the man.

"I knew that you would," Kevin said hotly, "They always blame the boyfriend or the husband and I didn't hurt Andrea, I would never hurt her! We were going to start a family, we were going to start over!"

"Start over?" Theo asked in surprise.

Kevin nodded, "We were leaving this place. Andrea was going to start her own humane aquarium."

Draco gritted his teeth and bit back an annoyed comment.

* * *

"Did you have _any_ luck with the activists?" Draco asked when he stepped back into the basement.

Eddie shook his head, "Unfortunately not. They do hate that place but they didn't take too much of an issue with Andrea. They said she was always fair to the creatures and they said something about her wanting to start up a humane aquarium."

"Her boyfriend said the same thing," Daphne said, "And he doesn't seem to be the killer either but it's hard to tell."

"It's hard to tell because there's no fucking evidence," Draco said irritably, " _Please_ tell me that we have confirmation of everyone's alibi's."

"We do," Neville said, "Jack and Maria confirm that they were together at the party on the night Andrea died."

"His wife could be covering for him," Theo pointed out.

Hermione snorted, "She _knew_ he was having an affair, I bloody doubt it!"

Neville smiled slightly and continued, "The activist's all had alibi's which checked out too. They were picked up by the petty crime Aurors after the security guards at the house floo-ed the justice department. They all spent the night in the big holding cell over there."

"Brilliant," Draco sighed, "Rebecca Johnson didn't have an alibi, she said she was home alone reading that night. She felt ill so she didn't go to the big party at Davidson's house."

"Well she probably didn't go because she was having an affair with Maria Davidson's husband," Eddie said in amusement.

"That too," Draco admitted, "Kevin Finnegan, Andrea's boyfriend, doesn't have an alibi either. Apparently he was out doing some late night fishing at a lake near the centre."

"A lot of the workers at the centre don't have alibis," Eddie said, "They were all at the party but could have snuck away at any point. They all saw Jack at several points in the 10pm-11pm time gap."

"He could have snuck away at any point and killed Andrea," Draco said irritably, "And so could his wife. Where are we on the footage from the surveillance charms?"

"It was tampered with," Eddie replied, "The footage of the room where the Kappa's are kept had been changed. The footage was from two days earlier and had been jammed in there. I tried to retrieve the real footage but whoever replaced it covered their tracks well."

"Ugh!" Draco exclaimed as he stalked towards the door, "So we're right back to square one because every single suspect had access to those fucking Kappa's!"

* * *

Harry was leaning over the railing on his balcony. He was deep in thought as a cigarette burned absentmindedly in his hand. He heard the door open, but he didn't need to turn around to guess who had entered his sanctuary.

"Everyone is a fucking suspect!"

Harry smiled slightly, "That's how a murder case works."

"Isn't there supposed to be some evidence that helps me figure out _which_ suspect is the bloody killer?" Draco asked irritably.

Harry chuckled and held out a cigarette, "Usually there is, however in most cases the victim isn't eaten by Kappa's in a swimming pool, leaving next to no evidence."

"I swear, you just gave me this case to piss me off," Draco muttered as he lit the cigarette and took a long drag from it.

"I honestly just gave you the case because we were already working on a murder case when it came in," Harry said as Draco leant next to him on the railing, "But if it helps go through all of the suspects with me and tell me their motive, means and opportunity."

Draco sank into a chair, "Well they all have the means. All four suspects had access to the Kappa's that covered up the crime. They all had the capability to stun Andrea and throw her into Kappa infested water."

"Alright," Harry said, sitting down across from Draco, "Opportunity?"

"Jack Davidson and his wife Maria were both at the party where she was killed. They could have slipped away and killed Andrea at any point," Draco rattled off, "Rebecca Johnson was having an affair with Jack and had access to the house and the grounds where Andrea was killed. Kevin Finnegan had probably been to a party at the house before, he could have snuck in and killed Andrea but I can't see what motive he would have had. Andrea was pregnant with his child and they were about to leave and start anew together."

"So scratch him off the list," Harry said, his eyes sparkling as he watched Draco work through the case, "The other three suspects. What are their motives?"

"Andrea was planning to open a humane aquarium and the activists were behind the idea. It would have been a lot of competition for Jack...not to mention the fact Andrea knew about Jack's announcement to merge the hippocampus and grindylow enclosures. She wasn't happy about it her and if she had taken it to the press it would have been very bad for business," Draco said.

Harry just nodded and let Draco continue, "Maria Davidson thought her Husband was having an affair with Andrea. She was wrong, he was having an affair with Rebecca, but hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"True," Harry agreed, "The last suspect?"

"There was something off about Rebecca Johnson, she was jumpy from the moment that we arrived," Draco admitted, "She was having an affair with Jack and she was very reluctant to rat him out. She knew that Andrea knew about Jack's plans with the enclosures. She even admitted that Andrea had confronted her about those plans but she claims she just spoke to...hang on!"

Harry grinned, "Have you got it?"

Draco's eyes had widened, "She said that Andrea confronted her at the party but when she gave her alibi to your junior Aurors she said she wasn't at the party! Not to mention something odd she said when we questioned her...she said _if_ anyone had killed Andrea it was the activists. It couldn't have been the activists because petty crime had them in a holding cell all night. Why would she point us in the wrong direction if she wasn't the killer? And why would she say _if_? The only person who could have suggested that it was anything other than murder was the person who designed it to look like an accident or suicide!"

"Auror Malfoy, you have your murderer," Harry said with a proud smile, "Go arrest her."

Draco grinned as he got to his feet, "Thanks for your help Potter."

"I barely did anything, it was all you," Harry said honestly, "Good work."

"Thanks," Draco said again as he left the balcony with a skip in his step.

* * *

The moment he got to say it was so satisfying, "Rebecca Johnson, you are under arrest for the murder of Andrea Michaelson."

Frog marching her into an interrogation room was just as satisfying. Draco smirked slightly as he faced the pale woman over a desk in interrogation room A.

"You murdered Andrea Michaelson and you staged it to look like an accident," Draco said quietly, "You didn't go to the party. You stayed at work late, you altered the surveillance charms and you took the kappa's out of the enclosure. You put them in the pool, and when Andrea confronted you outside you got into a fight, that's how she sustained a deep cut to her lip before falling into the water."

Rebecca's eyes were brimming with tears but she remained silent.

"When she still wouldn't listen to you, you stunned her and you threw her into the Kappa infested water. You watched them rip her apart and feed on her and then you returned them to their enclosure before anyone knew they were missing."

Rebecca's reserve broke, "I didn't mean to kill her!" she cried.

"You murdered her in cold blood, Rebecca," Draco said coolly, "For what? To protect your lover?"

"Yes!" Rebecca exclaimed, "But I didn't mean for it to happen like that! I didn't want Jack to lose everything because of that silly bitch! She was going to go to the press, she was going to ruin his business and start her own! I was begging her to see reason, I begged her not to go to the press! The Kappa's were there for dramatic effect, I never wanted to kill her, I just thought if I threatened her she would back off and leave Jack alone! I stunned her to shut her up and she fell back into the water, there was nothing I could do, they just latched onto her and it was over in seconds. There was nothing I could do!"

Draco slid a sheet of paper across the desk as Rebecca sobbed hysterically, "If it's not murder then it's manslaughter. Either way it's a minimum of 10 years in Azkaban Rebecca so if I were you I would sign that confession. The more compliant you are, the better chance you have of being placed in the new block of the prison rather than the draughty, Death Eater infested one."

Rebecca nodded and pulled the paper towards her with shaking hands, "I'm so sorry, I am so sorry."

* * *

With the case closed Draco had told the team to head home. It had been an exhausting few days and they all needed the break. He had hung back to finish the paperwork, but as it was a nice night on his patio (it was always a nice night because of the false environment charm), he decided to sit out on the patio and finish the paperwork there.

As it was, he had just finished and was indulging in a cigarette when Harry strutted in. He leant against the doorway and crossed his arms, smiling slightly at Draco.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Let me guess, you're proud of me?"

"I am," Harry laughed as he lit up a cigarette, "That was a really difficult case and I'm impressed. I really am, and Susan is too."

"Does that mean she's off our back?" Draco asked hopefully.

"Yes," Harry said, "You solved a bitch of a case and my team caught a serial kidnapper. We're all back in the good books so things should settle back down now."

"What does that mean?" Draco asked.

"It means we'll be able to work together a bit more closely again," Harry admitted, "Not that you needed us on this case. You were great."

"It was a hard case," Draco admitted.

"It was a really hard first murder case," Harry agreed, "Which is why I'm so impressed. You're a bloody good Auror."

Draco scoffed and took a drag from his cigarette, "Just seeing out my contract."

Harry smiled slightly and looked out into the false night sky, "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Malfoy," he said.

Draco hid his own smile at those words and they fell into a comfortable silence.

 **TBC :)  
**


	12. Ten Fingers

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 12 - Ten Fingers  
**

"Guess what I have for you."

"Ooh a case!" Daphne said excitedly as Harry stepped into the basement, "Is it a murder?"

"Evil politician?"

"Kidnapper?"

Draco looked from team member to team member in disbelief, "What did I tell you about getting excited when you see the brown envelope?"

"Not to do it?" Theo asked with an amused grin.

Harry tried and failed to hide his smile at Draco's comment. He perched himself on Draco's desk and flipped open the brown file, "Another weird one has come in. It's been sent your way because about 10 other Aurors have tried and failed to solve it. Technically the boss wants it to be a joint job."

"I sense a but," Draco said.

Harry nodded, "But Ron is on holiday this week and Burton is off ill which means you've just got me and Harrison."

"Well I'm sure we'll find some use for you," Draco joked with an amused glance at Harry, "How weird is this weird case?"

"The first two words of the report are 'mangled fingers', so use that as a guide," Harry said.

"Mangled fingers?" Daphne asked in disgust.

"I did say it was a weird one," Harry warned them, "Most of the cases that get sent this way are. If nobody else has solved them they are either incredibly weird or the instigator is incredibly clever."

"Normally it's a combination of the two," Neville added, "Give us the proper case break down."

"It isn't much of a breakdown I'm afraid," Harry sighed, "Nobody knows much of anything. All I can say is that there have been 10 murders commited within the last 10 weeks and all that is left of each person are their 10 mangled fingers. Each time DNA spelling has proven the fingers belonged to the victim, but we haven't found any other shred of evidence. All of the murders are happening in the Perthshire area of Scotland and even the Muggle inhabitants are starting to get scared."

"Wait, were all of the victims' wizarding?" Draco interrupted.

"Yes," Harry replied, "But thus far that's the only connection we've been able to make. Not all are British, not all are the same age or gender. Some work in the wizarding world and some in the muggle, some are purebloods, some are half-bloods, some are muggle-born and there has even been a squib. The only connection is that all can either practice magic or know of it."

"You're right, it is a weird one," Theo said as a frown formed on his face.

"It wouldn't have been sent down here if it wasn't," Harrison said as he stepped into the basement.

"So what's your first step when you have next to no evidence?" Daphne asked slowly.

"You re-examine the evidence you do have," Draco said, "Fresh eyes and fresh ears. Potter, you are referring to these people as victims. Do you know that they are dead?"

"Yes," Harry said solemnly, "We can tell a little bit about the death from the fingers but not much. We know that all 10 were murdered with the killing curse prior to having their fingers severed."

"Then why sever the fingers?" Eddie asked with a frown of frustration, "How were they even found? And where?"

"It's random and it doesn't seem to relate to the victim," Harrison said, "They are always in a box, sometimes just lying on the street or sometimes on a park bench. It's always a public area though and every single time it's been a muggle who has found them. The muggle police were stumped."

"We memory charmed them all and stole the case." Harry added, "We thought it was the best thing for the statute of secrecy."

"Could this just be a maniac trying to scare muggles?" Daphne asked.

"We thought about that," Harry said honestly, "But this is too well planned. This person is smart, it's not just a psycho trying to expose magic or scare muggles."

"So somebody is killing people and putting their fingers in public places," Draco mused, "10 murders in 10 weeks with 10 fingers left at every crime scene..."

"Someone has a thing for the number 10," Daphne pointed out.

"Yeah but why 10?" Eddie asked, "If it were 7 then it would make sense."

"Yeah if it were Voldemort because 7 is a sign of powerful magic," Neville said, "But numbers mean different things to different people. The number 10 obviously means something to the killer."

"We had worked that much out," Harry said with an amused smile at Neville, "But knowing someone has a fondness for the number 10 doesn't help us track them down."

"When was the last murder?" Draco asked.

"Two weeks ago," Harry replied, "There was one each week and then they stopped at 10 so we don't think there will be anymore."

"This is the perfect time to act then," Draco said as he clapped his hands together, "It's been 2 weeks and as far as he is aware the muggle police and the Aurors haven't worked anything out. He'll be getting confident and cocky now which means he'll also be getting careless. If there was ever a perfect time to trick him into giving himself up it's now."

Harry smiled slightly proudly at Draco, "Susan knew that too which was why this case was passed on to your team when it was. As far as I'm concerned, this is your case. Harrison and I are just here to assist so you can put us to use like you would with your own team members."

Draco nodded slowly, "I want us to split up. Theo will stay here and re-examine the forensic evidence gleaned off of the victims-"

"Ugh, the fingers! Really?" Theo asked in disgust.

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, "Didn't you say on your first day that you would _much_ rather stay here rather than be out in the field Theo?"

Theo rolled his eyes, "Yeah but examining _mangled_ fingers, I did not sign up for that."

"You signed up for whatever we wanted you to," Harry reminded Theo with a grin, "Or it's Azkaban, remember?"

At this Theo huffed off into 'his' corner of the room which was full of weird gadgets. Draco continued as if Theo hadn't spoken, "Everyone else will quickly read up on the case notes and then we'll split up into three groups and re-examine all 10 crime scenes. Maybe somebody missed something with this case being passed around between so many muggle policemen and Aurors."

"Good thinking," Daphne said as she caught the replicated file that Draco had just thrown her way. The others all received their files and the basement fell into silence as Harrison dropped down onto one of the sofa's to read the file.

Harry, on the other hand, pulled up a spare chair and decided to share Draco's desk.

Draco raised an eyebrow at him, "Did nobody ever teach you about personal space?"

Harry laughed, "Well Ron never had any concept of it and I always ignored Hermione's attempts to teach me anything. I like to work at a desk, sorry."

Draco shrugged, somewhat awkwardly, "It's fine," he lied as he cast his eyes downward and tried to concentrate on the file. His eye skimmed across the names and photographs of the victims and he didn't really take too much of it in. It was far too hard to ignore just how close Harry Potter was to him at the small desk.

"Right," Harry said after a few minutes, "As I said, no clear connection between any victim and no leads on the murderer."

"Yet," Draco said, clearing his throat when he realised that his voice sounded odd.

"Are you coming down with a cold?" Harry asked completely innocently.

Daphne snorted at her desk in the back of the basement as Draco nodded, "Yeah, something like that. Right there will be three teams and 10 crime scenes. Potter and I will tackle the first four and Neville and Daphne can handle five, six and seven. Eddie, you and Bailey can take the last three."

"I'm assuming you mean in the chronological order of the victim's deaths?" Harrison asked matter of factly.

Draco looked at him like he was stupid as he pulled on his Auror robes, "What other order could I have meant?"

Harrison opened his mouth to reply, but Harry just shook his head, "It was a rhetorical question Harrison."

"Right," Harrison said, glaring very slightly at Draco, "Of course it was."

Harry shot Draco a warning look that clearly said 'leave my junior Auror alone', and then without further ado he left the basement with the former Slytherin.

* * *

"So this case really is a weird one," Daphne said conversationally as she stood in a muggle park with Neville.

Neville nodded, "This place is just like the last two locations. No muggle surveillance cameras, no wizarding ways to track someone. It's so unassuming."

"Perfect place for a murderer to leave bits of his victims," Daphne said, glancing around at the nearby buildings, "What do you think he did with the rest of the victims?"

"I don't know," Neville said quietly, "We don't know anything Daphne. We don't even know if _he_ is a he. Why do you of all people always assume that a murderer this vicious must be a male?"

"Me of all people?" Daphne asked in disbelief, "I thought you didn't care about my past."

"I liked you for who you were," Neville said, not meeting her eyes, "But we both know that your past would have come up in conversation at some point. What you did to Blaise Zabini would have come up."

"You have no idea," Daphne said darkly, "No idea at all, so if I were you I would stop judging. I thought you were different, that's what I liked about you. I thought you didn't judge people."

"Is that why you decided to let me live?" Neville asked coolly, "Because I was too nice to kill?"

"I would never have killed you," Daphne said entirely honestly, but she was fuming with anger, "And yes that was because I liked you. Clearly that was a huge misjudgement on my behalf."

"On your behalf?" Neville asked in disbelief.

Daphne scoffed, "I'm not having this discussion with you, not in public, or anywhere for that matter! I'm going back to the basement to report back."

Neville followed her silently up the gravel path to the alleyway they had apparated into earlier.

* * *

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing with Dana."

Eddie looked at Harrison in disbelief, "Seriously? After two hours of silence that's what you say to me?"

Harrison narrowed his eyes at Eddie, "I mean it Carmichael."

Eddie scoffed, "I'm not doing anything with her, she's my girlfriend."

"Which is against the rules," Harrison pointed out.

"Which is why we're keeping it on the down low," Eddie said irritably, "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Yeah I have a problem with that," Harrison said hotly. They were standing in an abandoned narrow walkway between two large buildings, "You're screwing her around because that's all guys like you ever do."

"Guys like me?" Eddie asked with a laugh, "Mate, you don't even know me."

"I know your type," Harrison said, "You're just like Nott, screwing everyone and anyone under the sun. Doing whoever takes your fancy with no regard for people's feelings."

"Look here Bailey," Eddie said in an intimidating whisper, "For a start, I'm nothing like Theo. He had a reputation, that much is true but he's practically living at his girlfriend's place at the moment so I'd appreciate it if you stopped implying that he's a raging manwhore. Secondly, I have never screwed women around and if you knew me you would know that. You don't have a problem with me because you think I'm screwing Dana around, you just have a problem with the fact that I'm her boyfriend instead of you."

Harrison's face had gone slightly pink, "Dana's just my friend."

"Dana just thinks of you as a friend," Eddie agreed, "But clearly you have more than friendship on your mind and trust me mate, it isn't gonna happen."

"I'm not your mate," Harrison said irritably.

"Yeah," Eddie agreed as he prepared to apparate back to the basement, "You aren't."

* * *

"This is pointless."

"You have done literally no searching at all," Harry said breathily as he jumped down from a balcony and landed deftly in the alleyway below.

"I've been supervising," Draco said offhandedly, "And why search physically when you can just use magic?"

"Because magic doesn't pick everything up," Harry said, leaning against the wall of an old house and looking at Draco across the narrow alleyway.

"Clearly neither does manual labour," Draco smirked, "All you've found out today is that you aren't as fit as you used to be."

Harry snorted, "Cut me a break will you? I've only had two cases back in the field since I had most of the bones in my legs broken."

"Well they do say that the older you get the longer your recovery time is," Draco teased.

"Because I've reached the ripe old age of 25, right?" Harry laughed, "And need I remind you that you are actually older than me."

"Barely," Draco scoffed, "And can we please agree on one thing?"

"That depends what the one thing is," Harry said.

"Today has been a complete waste of time," Draco said, "We haven't found anything of consequence."

"Yes, we can agree on that," Harry sighed, "But you never know, maybe the others have found something."

"That's unlikely," Draco said honestly, "But Theo might have some new evidence. He's been left alone for three hours and you would be amazed to see what that man can do in three hours."

* * *

"Are you ready to see my masterpiece?"

Draco shot Harry a look that simply said, 'I told you so.'

Eddie snorted in amusement, "Your masterpiece?" he asked.

"Yes," Theo said smugly, "You lot all buggered off and left me alone for 3 hours. I finished the work you asked me to do in an hour then I had lunch with Hermione leaving me with an hour and a half to fill. I got bored so I created this," he dramatically pulled an old sheet off of a white board, unveiling a huge murder board like the one he had created the week before.

"So last week was simple but this week was a bit more tricky with their being 10 murders," Theo said as the others looked over the board in amazement. Each victim's important information was listed along with their photograph and there was an approximate time of death for each victim too.

"Good work," Draco said genuinely, "Does anyone else have something to show for the past 3 hours?"

Neville shook his head, "Nothing at all," he said.

Draco noticed that he and Daphne were standing as far apart as possible but he didn't comment as he looked to Eddie and Harrison. They seemed just as tense and Draco had to fight the urge to roll his eyes.

"Nothing, sorry," Eddie said.

Draco shook his head, "Don't worry about it. We didn't come up with anything new either."

"Well luckily for you lot I did," Theo said cheerfully, "Although it was also kind of Hermione's idea. We were talking about the case over lunch-"

"You were discussing mangled fingers over lunch?" Daphne asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Theo grinned, "One of the many attributes I love about Hermione you see. She is not at all squeamish."

"You can thank her long friendship with me for that," Harry said in amusement, "Now what did you uncover?"

Theo continued to speak, "Well I mentioned that the fingers seemed to show up in random locations but that they were all public. She wondered out loud if there would be any connection between the random places if they were mapped out so I did this."

Theo waved his wand and the whiteboard flipped over revealing a detailed map of the area of Perthshire where the victim's fingers had been found. It was an aerial photograph and on it Theo had marked the 10 crime scenes with red dots.

"See the pattern?" He asked.

Draco and Harry both nodded and turned to face each other, "It's a number 10," they said in unison.

"Good Godric, they're solving murders in unison too now," Neville murmured, only loud enough for Eddie to hear.

The former Ravenclaw just grinned in amusement.

"Not that it helps us at all," Daphne pointed out, ever the logical one, "We still have no clue what the number 10 means."

"But we do know that it's a statement," Draco said, more to Harry than to anyone else.

Harry nodded, "It's definitely a statement. The killer wants us to know that the number 10 means something. He's doing all of this to get our attention..."

"So he really is a psychopath," Harrison said from the sofa, "Killing all of those innocent people just to get the Aurors to pay attention to him."

"He's not a psychopath," Harry said, "He's too clever. He didn't need to leave the fingers at the crime scenes to make a number 10 on a map. By doing so he left evidence."

"But all that evidence told us was that the victims had been murdered with the killing curse," Theo reminded Harry.

"That's what he wanted it to tell us," Draco realised, "He wanted us to know that he was magical, not just a muggle psycho killing magical people. He wanted us to know that he wasn't just torturing people, he was killing them."

"So he's a sociopath, brilliant," Neville said sarcastically.

Harry sighed, "Yeah, I hate those. But the key to this is working out what the number 10 means-"

"- But not right now," Draco cut in, "I know Theo had a lunch break but nobody else has eaten. We need to come back to this with fresh minds so we'll agree to have a late lunch break and reconvene in half an hour."

This suggestion went down well because the basement emptied within 5 minutes until only Draco and Harry were left in the room.

"Don't you eat lunch?" Draco asked Harry as he stepped out onto his patio and lit a cigarette.

"Would it sound bad if I said this was my lunch?" Harry asked sheepishly as he lit up a cigarette too.

"To anyone apart from me, probably," Draco admitted as he sank into one of the comfortable deck chairs.

Harry sat down next to him and sighed, "This case is a nightmare."

"Yes, and it doesn't help that my team are being completely weird," Draco said irritably, "What the hell is going on with them?"

"Well I hate to question your authority or your judgement but to answer that question I kind of have to," Harry admitted.

"Go on then," Draco said with a long suffering sigh.

Harry blew out a ring of smoke, "You split your team up into groups and you put Neville and Daphne together, Neville and Daphne who literally just broke up last week. Now I can't speak for Daphne but I can speak for Neville because I live in the same house as him. All I can say is that he's pissed off and bitter and seeing her every day at work is really not helping."

Draco groaned, "This is why relationships within a work context are banned. I need them to get back to their best again."

"They will, just don't group them up alone together," Harry suggested, "They'll gradually get over it and they'll be able to work together again. It won't happen overnight though."

Draco sighed, "Any other leadership flaws of mine that you want to point out?"

"No," Harry said honestly, "Just a bit of gossip I need to share with you."

Draco snorted in amusement, "Harry Potter, a gossip. Well I never would have seen that one coming."

"You didn't work out that I was gay either," Harry laughed, "So that says a lot about your perception Malfoy."

Draco laughed loudly, "Yeah, alright. What's this gossip?"

"There's a slight love triangle within the justice department," Harry admitted, "Harrison and Dana started Auror training at the same time and Harrison's had a thing for her since pretty much day one. So her being with Eddie isn't sitting well with him, and yes we know they're together. It's not a very well kept secret in this team or in my team but I'm ensuring that it won't go any further than that."

"Brilliant," Draco sighed, "I'm starting to think I need to do some trust exercises with this bloody team."

"Trust falls and team building exercises?" Harry grinned.

"I know, the thought terrifies me too," Draco said with a shake of his head, "It would never work but Merlin this lot are so dysfunctional."

"Admit it, you wouldn't change that about them," Harry said.

"Yeah, I wouldn't," Draco agreed, "But listen Potter, we have to do something about this case."

"I know we do," Harry said as he put out his cigarette, "Which is why we're going to have a brainstorm with the others when we reconvene."

* * *

"Alright, everybody listen up!" Draco barked.

The team went silent and looked to the doorway leading out to the patio where Draco and Harry were standing.

"We need to work out what the number 10 signifies before we can go any further," Draco said.

"That is the key to this case," Harry added.

"And with that key we can unlock all of the other mysteries surrounding it," Draco continued.

"So," Harry said.

"What is the significance of the number 10?" Draco asked.

Daphne looked between them in amusement as they practically finished each other's sentences, "Are you serious? It could mean anything!"

"It could be an age," Harrison suggested.

"How many 10 year old sociopaths have you arrested?" Eddie retorted.

Theo snorted in amusement as Harrison's cheeks went pink, "I didn't mean his age! I was just suggesting it could be an age."

"Like the age of a child or relative," Harry said, mostly because he didn't want Harrison to be too embarrassed.

"Or the age he was when something significant happened," Daphne said thoughtfully.

"10 could be the age he was when he got his first pet, if this guy is crazy then there isn't going to be a logical reason for anything he does," Theo said.

"But he's not crazy," Neville cut in, "He's not an average serial killer, if he was then I would agree with you Theo. He's a sociopath, he's clever. There is a reason...we just can't see it yet."

Harry nodded, "Neville's right. Now 10 could be an age, what else could it be?"

"It could refer to 10 items or people?" Eddie suggested, "Well it could refer to 10 of anything really."

"We're getting nowhere with this," Draco said in frustration, "10 could literally mean anything. There are hundreds of things it could mean, possibly millions. It might just be his favourite bloody number!"

"You're right," Harry sighed, "It could be his birthday. It could be October because it's the tenth month...it could be a significant date."

"Date..." Draco said slowly.

"Yes, you don't go on many of them," Daphne teased.

Draco shook his head, "No, date! It could mean years, 10 _years_."

"Since what?" The occupants of the basement echoed.

"Well I hadn't worked that much out yet!" Draco exclaimed, "What happened 10 years ago?"

"Lots of things happened 10 years ago," Theo said, "And it could be something global, something restricted to the UK or something local to the murderer himself."

"No, it's something big," Harry said slowly, "Something we would all know about. Otherwise why would the murderer be trying so hard to send a statement? It's not just going out to us, the papers have been talking about this case too. Whatever happened 10 years ago is something everyone will remember."

"Well let's think...these attacks started in June and finished at the start of August..." Draco said, "10 years ago would be 1995... What was going on then?"

"Voldemort," Harry said quietly, "The maze in the Triwizard tournament transported me to a graveyard. Cedric was killed and Voldemort came back. He gathered strength that summer...he regrouped his followers. It's been 10 years since Voldemort effectively rose from the dead."

"Lazarus," Theo suddenly said, "That was the only other clue I gleamed from the forensic evidence. One of the victim's fingers had the word 'Lazarus' scratched into it."

"What's the significance of that?" Harrison asked.

"Lazarus rose from the dead," Draco and Harry said, in unison once more.

"Oh my God," Neville said quietly, "We don't just have a sociopath on our hands here. We have a sociopath who sympathised with Voldemort..."

"This isn't just a serial killer case anymore," Harry agreed as dark clouds brewed in his eyes, "If we aren't careful we have someone very clever and very sick who admires Voldemort. We have a future dark lord on our hands."

"What does that mean?" Draco asked Harry quietly.

"It means we have to act quickly," Harry said, "Very quickly, and it also means I'm taking over. Theo, I need a search of all Death Eaters. We need their locations, as soon as possible."

Theo nodded and disappeared from the basement. Everyone looked at Harry expectantly, they were awaiting their orders.

"I need in-depth searches into the area of Perthshire where the attacks happened," Harry said, "I need to know of everyone wizarding who lives within a 50 mile radius and everyone wizarding who has lived there within the past 50 years. It's especially important if any of those families had links to the Death Eaters or to Slytherin house. Red flag all of those."

"Slytherin house?" Draco asked irritably.

"I'm sorry but it's a precaution that has to be taken," Harry said firmly, "Voldemort recruited most of his followers from the house he was in at school. It isn't a reflection on any of you but it might well help us get this guy. Alright?"

There were nods and echoes of 'yes' throughout the basement. As everyone rushed off into various directions Harry turned to Draco, "Right Draco, you're coming with me."

"Where are we going?" Draco asked as he followed Harry towards the staircase leading into the main justice department.

"We're going to the Hall of Memory," Harry replied quietly, "Technically only a Class I Auror can get in there but I'll allow you access with my badge. All memories from criminal trials are stored there and we really need to look at the trials that took place after the war. The Death Eaters all named followers and sympathisers in a bid to get less time in Azkaban. We followed up the ones that seemed the most suspicious, but we didn't have the time or resources to follow up every name. One of those names could be our murderer."

"Then lead the way," Draco said simply.

* * *

"Do you think he was exaggerating when he said next dark lord?" Theo asked.

"Harry doesn't tend to exaggerate," Dana yawned, "Does Eddie know you're here by the way?"

Theo looked at the younger woman in amusement, "Who do you think asked me to bring chicken soup over here? I don't just bring people chicken soup when they have the flu, have you met me?"

Dana rolled her eyes, "Unfortunately I have, yes. And I don't have the flu, it's August. Who gets the flu in August?"

"Well I don't know what's wrong with you," Theo said distractedly as he sat on her sofa with a huge stack of paperwork laid out on the coffee table.

"I got hit in the stomach with a spell a couple of days ago, the side effects are not fun," Dana groaned, "And you sitting on my sofa isn't exactly helping with the whole relaxation and recovery thing. What are you doing here?"

"The basement is mad right now with people running around all over the place," Theo said offhandedly, "I needed somewhere quiet to go through the files."

"Why not your own girlfriend's place rather than your best friends girlfriend's?" Dana asked sarcastically.

"Because my own girlfriend likes to get involved in things that she shouldn't and she isn't an Auror," Theo said as he threw a file onto the ground, "She might have the security clearance but that doesn't mean she should know about something like this. You're different, you're an Auror."

Dana smiled slightly, "You're protecting her."

"Well somebody has to," Theo said evasively, "Have you seen how reckless she is?"

"She works with magical creatures and lawyers, Theo," Dana said softly.

"Now she does," Theo agreed, "But she stood up to a werewolf when she was 14 and ran off for a battle when she was 16. Not to mention the fact she showed up at a squib smuggling base when we had explicitly asked her to stay put. She's reckless."

"No she isn't," Dana laughed, "She's a Gryffindor."

"There's a difference?" Theo retorted.

"Yeah," Dana said, an amused smile on her face, "Not all Gryffindors are reckless and not all Gryffindors are brave. Hermione is brave but she's also loyal. She didn't do any of those things because she was reckless, she didn't do anything for a rush of adrenaline. She did it all because she cares, that's the Hufflepuff in her."

"Oh let me guess, the ever sweet and pure Dana Burton was a Hufflepuff," Theo teased.

Dana glared at him, "I was actually, but I was a hat stall. I nearly ended up in Gryffindor, you shouldn't judge you know. Hufflepuff's aren't worthless, Harrison was one."

Theo snorted in amusement, "If you were trying to prove that they weren't worthless Harrison Bailey isn't a very good example. Although speaking of your co-worker, he and Eddie have _really_ been hitting it off during this case."

"What do you mean?" Dana asked cautiously.

"Only that they can't stand each other and had a face off in an alley earlier today," Theo said, amusement lacing his voice as he threw down the last file, "Nothing!"

"None of the Death Eaters have unknown whereabouts?" Dana asked in surprise.

Theo shook his head, "They're all in Azkaban, dead or leading a team of criminal geniuses. I'm not looking forward to seeing Potter's face when I report this back."

Dana glanced at him sympathetically as he got to his feet, "Thank Eddie won't you? For the chicken soup?"

Theo smiled over at her, "Sure. Get better soon Dana."

* * *

"Four hours of perusing through the trials of Death Eaters for this measly list?" Draco fumed as he and Harry walked back towards the basement.

"It's actually a pretty extensive list," Harry said.

"But four hours of work and all we have to show at the end of it is a list," Draco scoffed.

"Yes, it's just a list at the moment," Harry agreed, "But once we've crossed off Death Eaters with known whereabouts it will be smaller. Then when we cross check it with the list of wizarding families living in the area we'll hopefully get a name that crops up in both places."

"Hopefully being the operative word," Draco pointed out as he held the door open for Harry.

"You need to have your glass half full a little more often Draco," Harry said simply as they stepped into the back corridor and made for the basement stairs.

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but only because tensions were high and he didn't want to piss Harry off. They fell silent as they walked down the stairs into the busy, bustling basement.

Theo and Eddie were talking quietly in Theo's corner of the room. Harrison, Neville and Daphne on the other hand were crowded around the map of Perthshire that Theo had created. It had since been taken off of the whiteboard and enlarged which left the three Aurors sitting on the floor around it.

"Attention please!" Harry called with a loud clap of his hands.

The room immediately fell silent and all eyes turned to look at Harry. He strode into the basement and sat down in Draco's chair at Draco's desk. Then he took out a notebook and a pen, he found it far easier than a quill to jot things down quickly.

"I have a list here of all known followers and supporters of Voldemort. The first thing I need is a list of any Death Eaters unaccounted for," Harry said, looking towards Theo.

"It's a short list," Theo said sheepishly.

"How short?" Harry asked.

"Well it's more like...non-existent," Theo admitted, "All known Death Eaters are either dead or accounted for in Azkaban. With the exception of people working under the government...like Draco."

"What about your brother, Frank?" Draco asked.

Theo tensed up slightly, "He's not behind this."

"Maybe not, but he is unaccounted for," Harry said, "And he's on this list. I have to be so careful here Theo, there isn't room for much compassion where this case is concerned."

Theo didn't argue anymore, he didn't look particularly happy about this but he remained silent.

Harry sighed, "Harrison, would you cross-check this list with the one you guys compiled please?"

Harrison nodded and took the list from his boss, "Any word from Dana yet boss?"

"She's feeling a lot better," Theo said, admittedly to get on Harrison's nerves, "She's gutted she's missing such a big case of course."

"How do you know?" Harrison asked with narrowed eyes.

"Oh I took her some soup," Theo said, "As a get better soon present. I also sort of commandeered her flat to get those Death Eater checks done," he said with a wave of his hand.

Eddie had to turn around to hide his amused grin and Draco shot Theo a warning glare. The sneaky man just smiled unapologetically and turned back to his work.

"Do you really think one of the names is going to match up?" Draco asked Harry in an undertone.

"I have to hope beyond hope that it does," Harry murmured back, "Because if not...we could have a national disaster on our hands."

Draco swallowed hard and nodded, "I hope so too," he agreed.

* * *

"Harry, we've got a match!"

Harry was instantly alert. The search had been an automatic one put into place by Harrison which had left everyone waiting impatiently for a result to ping up. The amount of names needing to be cross-checked meant it was a long process.

"Who?" Harry asked urgently.

"It's only a last name but the system thinks there may be a relation to another name..." Harrison said as he essentially downloaded the data into his head with magic.

"What are the names then?" Draco asked impatiently.

"There is a name on the list of followers and sympathisers...Rosalind Lestrange."

"Lestrange?" Several people echoed.

Harry nodded, "She was the sister of Rabastan and Rodolphus."

"The younger sister," Draco added, "And she's dead. She was only named as a follower because the whole Lestrange family were sworn to Voldemort. She died long before the second war, she might even have been dead before the first war."

"She died during it," Theo said, frowning as he wracked his brains, "Because we knew Rabastan's son, remember? Sabastian was three years above us in school, and he said his Aunt died in childbirth before he was born."

"Rabastan Lestrange has a son?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Had a son," Draco corrected, "He was killed in the summer between our 5th and 6th year. He ran away and was killed for treason. Why do you think I took the mark?"

Draco was looking Harry directly in the eye as he spoke which was unnerving. Harry glanced down, "Sorry, I didn't know."

"Clearly," Draco said coolly, "What connection does Rosalind Lestrange have to our murderer, Bailey?"

"Well it's like Nott said," Harrison replied, "Rosalind Lestrange died in childbirth in May 1975. It was the middle of the first war and the Lestrange's had already sworn their loyalty to Voldemort. The girl was dumped at an orphanage somewhere in rural Perthshire."

"Why rural Perthshire?" Daphne asked.

"The Lestrange manor was always a secret," Draco said slowly, "I went there but I had to go via floo so that I wouldn't know where to find it. There are rumours, there have been for a while, that it's somewhere in Scotland."

"What does this have to do with anything else?" Eddie cut in, "What makes you think that Rosalind Lestrange's daughter did this?"

"I don't, the system just noticed the connection. Rosalind Lestrange was a follower of Voldemort and her daughter lives in the area where they attacks are taking place," Harrison replied shortly.

"What's her name?" Harry asked as the cogs began to whir in his head, "The daughter?"

"She goes by Morgana Hart, but her real name is Tamsin Lestrange," Harrison replied simply.

"Tamsin?" Harry barked.

Harrison frowned, "What's the significance of that?"

"No...no...no," Harry muttered, "This can't be...what was Voldemort doing in 1974 to 75, Draco?"

Draco frowned too, "Uh well he hadn't quite cracked the Ministry but he had a lot of followers. Most of them were people he had recruited in his school days and their family members. He was killing members of the order at that time too...but his location was unknown."

"Because he was staying at the hidden Lestrange manor, maybe?" Harry said, his eyes meeting Draco's.

"Holy Salazar," Draco whispered, "You don't think that Tamsin Lestrange is..."

"That's exactly what I think," Harry said darkly, "Because Tamsin is short for Thomasina which is the female equivalent of the name Thomas."

"Or Tom," Neville said quietly, "She's his daughter."

"What?" Daphne barked.

"Tamsin Lestrange isn't just a sociopath," Harry said, "She's Voldemort's daughter."

"Daughter?" Eddie asked in disbelief, "How was he capable of breeding?"

"Because he was human back then," Harry said, "Or more human than he was in the second war at least. When he came back in 1995 he used a potion, it made him less than human. But back then he probably still looked like Tom Riddle in some form. There isn't any reason why he couldn't have had children."

"Physically at least," Theo said, "But mentally...I didn't think Voldemort wanted that."

"He probably didn't," Daphne frowned, "He probably never knew."

"And if Tamsin was sent to an orphanage then she probably didn't know either," Eddie reasoned, "She probably still doesn't know."

"She knows," Harry said, "And she's behind this, all of it. Theo, she must have gone to Hogwarts so please find her records for me. I need to know everything from what house she was in to what her best subject was."

Theo nodded and left the room without a word. Harry's brain was still whirring at a million miles per hour, "She clearly only found out about her true parentage recently. Harrison, when did she move to the area?"

"She doesn't live there exactly," Harrison replied, "At least there's no known address for her but she started staying in hotels in the area around 3 months ago."

"Not long before the first murder," Neville said.

Harry nodded, "We've got our murderer, but now we have to catch her."

"She's obviously staying in Lestrange Manor," Daphne pointed out.

"But we have no idea where Lestrange Manor is," Eddie said.

"No..." Neville said thoughtfully, "But we might be able to work it out. Have you ever heard of trap streets?"

"What?"

Neville rolled his eyes, "Muggle's have this idea of trap streets. A map could be printed in 1864 and then in the next map a couple of years later that street disappears from the map. The muggles call them trap streets because they think the cartographer puts the false street in to catch anyone copying their work."

"But?" Draco asked.

"But it has nothing to do with that. The streets disappear because they are taken over by wizards and hidden from the view of muggles. There might be barely any wizarding only towns left in the UK but there are still loads of wizarding only streets."

"So you think if we look at maps of the area a street will just disappear?" Harrison asked.

"Not exactly," Neville admitted, "Larger maps feature traps too but not of streets. Godric's Hollow disappeared off of maps way back in the 1400's when wizards obscured it from view. I think if we look at the maps a muggle manor will just disappear, being replaced with what looks like empty land or perhaps bog land to the muggle eye. Nobody will want to build on it and hidden beneath a ton of charms will be Lestrange Manor."

"Neville, you are a genius," Harry said with a proud smile, "Get on it right away. Take Harrison with you and report back as soon as you find something."

Neville nodded, looking rather proud of himself. He and Harrison grabbed their robes and left the basement which was now looking rather empty.

"What are we going to do?" Daphne asked as she looked between Draco and Harry.

"Assuming Neville is right and he finds the rough location of that manor, we need to know how to get into it," Harry said as he stepped towards the patio.

Draco and Daphne instinctively followed him into the warm evening air.

"If it's so well hidden, how are we going to do that without being detected?" Daphne asked.

Harry lit up a cigarette and sighed, "I was kind of hoping Draco had a genius idea."

Draco shook his head, "I have an idea, but it's far from genius."

"Let's hear it anyway," Harry said.

Draco frowned, "There have always been a lot of rumours in pureblood circles about this fabled Lestrange Manor. I've been inside once and it's creepy, it's like gothic architecture to the extreme with rooms that make no sense. If you go in the bathroom through the wrong door the whole room ends up being upside down."

"Sounds charming," Daphne said sarcastically.

Draco rolled his eyes, "I told you that it was creepy. Anyway, when I was there visiting my Aunt Bellatrix I heard Rabastan bragging about how nobody could ever find the Manor and that even if they did they would never get through the defences. My Mother asked him what he meant and he said there was a huge puzzle beneath the foundations that led to a secret entrance but that the four intruders who had tried to get in that way had all died trying."

Harry's frown deepened, "It's an old pureblood way to protect your property, isn't it? I read about this in Auror training, a series of obstacles and tests are set up against intruders. It started out as a way to repel muggles from the property."

"Yes," Draco said with a nod, "My Father never bothered with Malfoy Manor. It was always well protected anyway and back in the days when Muggles wanted to kill us my ancestors were under the protection of the muggle kings."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Harry snorted, "Well, the good news about this is that if it's true we can get in. The bad news is that if we fail any of the puzzles we'll probably die."

"So it's just a tiny bit of bad news then," Daphne said, raising an eyebrow at him and cocking her head sideways.

"We probably won't die," Harry reasoned, "I've done this before. I did a weird obstacle course thing when I was 11. Granted, I had Hermione then but I'm sure Draco will do."

Draco looked mildly offended, "I'll do?"

"You're smart," Harry said as he put his cigarette out, "But let's face it, you're no Hermione Granger."

Daphne shot Draco an amused look as Harry walked back into the basement. As she passed him she murmured, "Harry Potter thinks you'll do Draco."

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes and bit his tongue as he also stepped back into the basement.

* * *

The team 'briefing' was very haphazard. Everyone was scattered around the basement at desks or on sofas. Harry was standing close to the door with Draco by his side and the room was incredibly silent.

"Eddie, Theo," Harry said, looking over at the two men, "What did you get from her Hogwarts file?"

Theo and Eddie bounced off each other as they relayed information. Theo began, "She was in Ravenclaw and her file says that all of her teachers prided her on being incredibly intelligent but very quiet."

"Her best subjects were Charms and Transfiguration," Eddie continued.

"Her worst subject was Defence against the Dark Arts," Theo said.

"But she wasn't great at Potions either," Eddie added.

"She was a Prefect and was offered the role of Head Girl but declined," Theo said.

"So we think she's very intelligent but not actually a great duellist," Eddie finished.

Harry had been listening intently as the men spoke. When they finished he nodded, "That fits in remarkably well with what we worked out earlier...but I'll get to that in a minute. Neville, Harrison. Did your map search come up with anything?"

Neville nodded, "We found it. Sometime in the mid 1500's a muggle manor disappeared and never showed up on a map again. I can point out where it is, but it will probably still have secrecy spells on it."

"We've worked out how to get to it," Harry said, "But it's not going to be a very easy job so I'm only taking a team of four."

"And how are you selecting those four?" Neville asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend.

"We have reason to believe there's going to be a series of puzzles and challenges beneath the house and from what Theo and Eddie just said I'm all the more sure of that now. Getting in will be the hard part, after we've done that arresting her will be easy," Harry said matter of factly, "So I need to make sure I pick carefully. I'm going to be leading the team and Draco is going to be my second in command. He knows a lot about the manor, more than anyone else does so he's going to be invaluable. I need someone logical and someone with common sense to balance us out so my obvious choice is you Neville."

Neville just nodded but it was obvious (to Harry at least) that he was glad to have been chosen.

Harry's eyes skated over Theo, Eddie, Harrison and Daphne, "For a purely logical mind I also think you should come along Theo. You are the brains behind this team and while Draco is smart, you think in a whole different way."

Theo nodded, although he did look a little pale.

Harry gave a firm nod, "Good. Get ready then because we'll be leaving within the next half an hour."

* * *

As everyone was gearing up in the small room at the back of the basement, Daphne grabbed Neville and pulled him to one side.

"Can I have a word?"

Neville's eyes softened when he realised who had grabbed him, "Make it quick, we leave in 5 minutes."

"I know," Daphne said quietly, aware of the others watching from afar, "I just needed to apologise for how I was acting earlier... I don't hate you Neville, far from it really. It's just so hard...working together like this."

"I know," Neville said, unable to meet her eyes.

"And I just had to let you know that I did care, I _do_ care and what you said about me...it hurt," Daphne said, pain flashing through her eyes briefly before she managed to cover it up.

"I didn't mean it," Neville sighed, "Well I did mean some of it. We would have had to talk about your past at some point if we were together. But I don't judge you for it, I was bitter and angry."

"So was I," Daphne admitted as Neville finally looked at her, "But we both know that what you are about to do is dangerous and I couldn't let you go knowing that the last thing we did was argue."

Neville looked at her like he hadn't for a while, with his eyes soft and kind rather than cold and harsh, "You think I'll die."

Daphne sighed, "No, I have more faith in you than that. But I had to let you know how I felt...just in case."

"Just in case I don't come back." Neville finished.

"You will though," Daphne said, the hope in her voice unmistakable.

"I'll do my best," Neville said as he reached out and took her hand, "I can't promise any more than that."

"I know," Daphne said simply.

"Neville, you ready?" Harry called from the main room, "We're heading out!"

Neville stole one last glance at Daphne, "See you later," he said quietly.

Daphne stepped forward and lightly kissed his lips, "See you later," she agreed.

* * *

"So what were you and Daphne talking about?" Harry asked as he, Draco, Neville and Theo trekked across the bog land that they knew Lestrange Manor was hidden on.

Neville rolled his eyes, "Do you really want to know?"

"Have you met him? Of course he wants to know," Draco said.

Theo snorted, "Because you never acted like a gossiping witch in Hogwarts...oh wait."

Neville smiled slightly, "She was saying goodbye."

"We're not actually going to die, are we?" Theo asked, going from cocky to concerned in no time at all.

"Probably not," Harry replied offhandedly.

"This is dangerous though and Daphne knew that," Neville said, "She didn't want our last words to have been a fight."

"Well that's awfully noble of her," Theo said distastefully, "What have you done to her?"

"Shh," Harry muttered as he came to a stop, "Can you hear that?"

They fell silent and listened. Once they had it was easy to hear the faint buzzing of magic nearby. There was an odd pulsing too, they were close.

"I can feel the magic too," Draco said quietly, "We must be near the underground entrance."

"How do we find it?" Theo whispered.

"It will be marked somehow," Draco replied, "We just need to know what to look for. A big stone maybe or a spot where the ground looks different."

"Like that big patch of grass over there in the middle of a bog," Neville suggested in amusement.

Draco looked sheepish and Harry snorted in amusement, "Yeah Neville, exactly like that. How do we get in?"

"Like this," Neville replied, "Revelio."

He had pointed his wand at the suspicious area of ground in front of them. The ground rumbled slightly, creating the effect of a small earthquake. The grassy area gave way and revealed a set of stone stairs leading downwards.

"Neville was top of the class in secrecy charms and puzzlement magic," Harry explained as Draco and Theo stared at the man in amazement.

"You don't say," Theo said.

Harry shot Neville an amused glance and led the way down the stairs. They went down for a long time until they eventually came to a door.

"Lumos," Harry murmured to light up the dark area. There was an engraving on the wall which read;

" _To gain entry to the hidden realm of darkness you must be worthy. Who was the worthiest, greatest and proudest of them all?"_

Draco scoffed, "Well that one's easy. Salazar Slytherin."

There was another rumble that displaced some dust from the old, musty passageway. The rumble was caused by the stone door sliding open magically.

"Don't get cocky, that was only the first test," Harry warned Draco as they stepped into the first room of this strange underground puzzle.

"I'm not getting cocky," Draco assured him, "I mean can you _see_ that thing?"

Harry nodded and looked at the large object in the centre of this circular room. It was a huge blade that was spinning very fast. The door that they needed to get to was on the other side of the room and there was another message on the wall in this room.

" _Only the wise will remain."_

"That's really helpful," Draco said sarcastically.

"Let's think about this logically," Harry began, "We can't go through it which means we either go under it or above it."

"Potter, do you see any broomsticks?" Draco remarked, "I doubt 'accio firebolt' is going to work here."

Harry grinned sheepishly, "That was a bit of luck to be honest."

"You getting through that tournament was all luck," Theo sniggered.

"Well someone among us is terrible when it comes to bets," Harry said as he surveyed the room, "I seem to remember him telling me he didn't think I would last 5 minutes."

Draco rolled his eyes, "You clearly have a plan Potter. What is it?"

"Well it's pretty bloody simple," Neville said as he got on his knees on the cold, hard concrete floor.

"We go under," Harry agreed as he lay down next to Neville, "Stay close to the floor. Don't crawl, just shimmy along on your stomach until we reach the alcove where the door is."

"And don't look up," Neville said, "No matter what comes flying out at you or what noises you hear just keep your head down or you'll lose it."

"Literally," Harry replied.

Tentatively Draco and Theo positioned themselves on the ground, "What do you mean by whatever happens?"

"Well this isn't going to be as simple as shimmying to the door," Harry said, "There will be traps. Some kind of creatures might start flapping around or...well there could be a memory invading charm."

"A what?" Theo asked.

"Memory invading charm," Neville said darkly, "They teach you how to react to it in Auror training. It literally gets inside your head and sources out your memories. It will make you hear things...things from your past."

"Brilliant," Draco muttered.

"Just keep your head down, no matter what," Harry said, his eyes inadvertently meeting Draco's.

Draco nodded and withdrew his gaze, "Let's just get on with this."

They began to pull themselves under the spinning blade. It was tight but it wasn't touching them, just as Harry and Neville had predicted. They were halfway there when the voices began to invade their minds. To each person it was different, but it was just as painful. They couldn't hear what was happening in the other person's mind but keeping their heads down was very difficult.

Harry and Neville were used to it. They knew what to do, they had been trained for this. Harry had been used to hearing his Mother scream as she was murdered since he was 13 years old. He was well acquainted with the sound of his Father shouting to his Mother to protect herself and their son. He could shut his eyes tightly and continue onwards as he tried to ignore the wrenching feeling in his gut.

Neville was slightly less used to this kind of torture but he had been trained for it. He heard his parents screaming in agony and Bellatrix Lestrange cackling. The fact they were in Lestrange Manor only intensified the anger that burned within him when this spell was used in his vicinity.

For Draco and Theo however, this was a whole new experience and it was a horrific one. Theo's Mother had died when he was young and in his mind he heard her pleading. He had been 4 years old when she had been murdered by his Father. She had tried to run away with him and his baby brother, Frank. His Father had caught her and locked Theo in his bedroom with his brother while he murdered her.

Draco heard everything that he expected to hear. A cacophony of all his fears, sins and regrets and Merlin, there were so many. He heard his Father shouting at him and calling him useless. He heard his Mother screaming as she fought with his Father, he heard her begging him to allow her to take him away from the war. He heard Hermione Granger's screams of agony as he stood by while she was tortured. He heard Voldemort's roar of anger when he realised what had happened at Malfoy Manor. Trying to go on as if he couldn't hear any of it was the hardest thing he had ever done. He could hear the whooshing sound above him, indicating that the blade was still spinning dangerously close to his head. He could feel it, and that was the only thing that forced him onwards.

When Draco, who was at the rear of the group, eventually reached the alcove he felt mentally exhausted. Harry reached down and pulled him out from underneath the blade with remarkable ease. He pulled Draco to his feet and glanced him over, "You okay?"

"Fine," Draco lied, aware that his voice was shaking.

Harry knew he was lying but nodded all the same as he opened the door, "Come on then," he said as he led the way into another room. This time the room was square shaped and the only thing in it was a large puzzle. It consisted of 6 square blocks that each had a different image on every side.

"Uh Harry, the walls," Neville said as he took a step into the room.

All four walls began to slowly close in.

"I guess we have a time limit to solve this puzzle then," Harry said calmly, "It looks like a crest of some sort."

"It's the Lestrange crest," Theo said as he took a step forward, "And I should be able to do it quickly...give me a minute."

"I don't know if you have a minute," Draco said nervously as the walls continued to close in.

Theo ignored him and began to move the blocks around with magic. The others nervously glanced between Theo and the walls as the puzzle began to come together.

"I hate to rush you but we're going to get crushed to death in about 30 seconds," Harry said, panic only just beginning to slip into his voice.

"Oh yeah, that's not rushing me at all!" Theo shouted as he put the second last piece into place.

"Look, this one!" Draco said anxiously as he clicked the last part of the puzzle into place.

They all breathed a sigh of relief as the walls gradually began to retreat.

Theo blew out a breath, "That is not good for my blood pressure."

"Merlin, you've been spending too much time with Hermione," Harry said.

"Yeah, about that," Theo said nervously, "She doesn't know what I'm doing today so if we survive can you just hold off on telling her about the giant spinning blade and the room with the walls crushing us?"

Neville smiled in amusement, "You really do like her."

Theo rolled his eyes, "I'm not having the 'Theo, you're being so cute and protective' chat again. I've already had that one with Dana."

"Since when are you and Dana best friends?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Since Hermione suggested double dates," Theo said with a shake of his head, "She and Dana get on, and Eddie and me live together so apparently it made sense."

They said no more as Harry surveyed the room they had just walked into. It was another circular room that was empty apart from the 8 torches that stood in a circle. There was a plaque on the wall which read;

" _Each flame lights its brother."_

"What do you reckon we only have one shot and that the torch we light has to light all of the others?" Draco asked, looking at Harry.

"I think that's very likely," Harry said, "But it's not going to be as simple as it looks. Is it?"

"No," Draco replied, "If we light this torch it looks as if it would cause a chain reaction and light all of the others but that's far too easy."

"But the plaque is so vague," Harry mused.

"That's why it's a trick. Each flame lights its brother, but which brother?" Draco said, "If we light this one it might light the one on its right but the one next to it might light the one on it's left which would stop the reaction right there."

Harry nodded as they bounced off of each other, "Any bright ideas then?"

"Okay first off, that's a terrible pun," Draco said calmly, "And secondly, yes I do. The torches are laid out like a clock. The top one is 12 o'clock, the bottom one is 6 o'clock, the left one is 9 o'clock and the right one is 3 o'clock."

"The ones in between are oddly placed though," Harry said, "They are all half past something. Half past 1, half past 4, half past 7 and half past 10."

Draco nodded, "But the clock is the clue..."

"Do we need to light them in time order?" Harry asked.

"Too easy," Draco replied, "But...the clock clue might just mean clockwise."

"You just said that was too easy," Harry pointed out.

"I know," Draco said as he surveyed the torches, "Starting at 12 o'clock would be too obvious. It's going to go clockwise but we need to working out the starting point."

"6," Harry said quickly, "This is all about darkness and evil and everything, isn't it? You said the Lestrange Manor was all creepy and shadowy. This is about fire, 666 is the devil's number and hell is filled with fire."

Draco looked at Harry in amazement, "Yes."

Harry grinned, "I wish we'd been friends sooner. Defeating Voldemort every year would have been a damn sight easier."

"I thought I was no Hermione Granger," Draco reminded Harry with a smirk.

"Hermione's smart, that much is true," Harry agreed, "But you're far more in the know when it comes to the wizarding world."

"I was also in the know," Neville pointed out, "Which you would have noticed if you had actually bothered to be my friend before 5th year."

"Oh come on Longbottom, what did you do before you became cool?" Theo asked in amusement.

"He got petrified trying to stop us from going to fight Voldemort," Harry teased, "But you were a good friend Neville and I didn't notice it sooner so I'm sorry. It only took you taking on a snake to get my attention."

"Yeah alright loverboys, can we get on with this?" Theo asked with a raised eyebrow, "We're kind of on a timer here."

"Are we?" Neville asked in surprise.

Draco and Harry looked at him in disbelief, "Did you miss the big timer up there?" Harry asked.

Neville looked up and uttered the word, "Oh," when he saw the large timer which was currently sitting at 1 minute and 30 seconds, "Well you should probably light that torch then."

Harry nodded. He raised his wand and said, "Incendio."

The flame lit for a second before fizzling out. As it did so a tiny crack in the wall opened and a dart came flying out of it.

"Harry, get down!" Draco shouted, shoving Harry to the ground so that the dart whooshed over their heads.

Harry dusted himself off and got to his feet sheepishly, "So the first number isn't 6 then."

"You don't say," Draco said sarcastically, although he did look concerned.

"Oh shit!" Theo exclaimed, "It's way more simple! It's the number 10, or as close as we can get to it anyway. Think about it, Tamsin Lestrange probably added some changes when she took over the manor. Light the torch closest to 10 on the clock, trust me."

"If I get shot with a poison dart because this is wrong, I won't be happy," Harry warned Theo as he lit the torch that was positioned at about 10.30 on a clock face. He ducked instinctively but nothing flew out of the wall at him. Instead the flame roared to life and lit every single torch around the circle.

With another small rumble the stone door slid open and they stepped into the next room.

"Holy fuck," Draco uttered when they saw what was in this room.

"You are shitting me!" Theo exclaimed, jumping back against the wall.

Harry rolled his eyes, "You're scared of the animal that represents your house?" he asked.

"Those are poisonous snakes!" Theo exclaimed.

"And would you be relaxed if you came face to face with a fucking lion?" Draco asked in a high-pitched voice.

Neville snorted in amusement, and Theo added, "Is nobody else concerned about the fact these evil looking snakes are advancing on us?"

"If only Harry could still speak parseltongue," Neville said, shooting an amused glance at Harry.

"But you can't," Draco said as he stepped back to get closer to the wall, "You said you lost the ability to speak it after you killed Voldemort."

"I did," Harry said as he took a step forward, "But it's like learning any language. I can't learn any new words but I do remember what I already learned."

"Please tell me you can speak enough to get us out of this situation," Theo said as his face got paler and paler.

"Of course I can," Harry said calmly. He stared into the face of one of the snakes and began to talk in a series of hisses. The snake seemed to listen intently, it even nodded and shook its head at various points in the conversation. When Harry stopped speaking the snake turned to the others and they began to clear a pathway in the middle of the room.

Harry tried not to look too smug as he crossed the room with the others hot on his heels. He wasted no time in going through the door at the other side into the next room. Once the door was shut behind them he said, "Well that was easy."

"Don't get too cocky yet," Draco said, echoing Harry's earlier words, "We're not finished."

"No, but I think this might be the last puzzle," Harry said as he surveyed the large rectangular room that they were now standing in.

"What gives you that idea?" Neville asked.

"Because there isn't a door," Harry said with a smirk.

There was a statue in the middle of the room. It looked like it was created in the essence of Salazar Slytherin. The wizard wore an elaborate robe and held out his hand as he pointed at something. Scattered around the room were statues of a man, a woman, a goblin and a house elf.

Harry frowned as he read out the writing on a plaque next to the trophy;

" _Only select the worthy."_

"Well as traditionally and stupidly pureblood as that is, it's also very easy," Theo said, "The answer is going to be witch and wizard, obviously."

"No," Harry and Draco said in unison.

Theo rolled his eyes, "Would you stop solving stuff in unison, please?"

"They can't help it that they both have brilliant ideas at the same time," Neville joked, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that you can't tell by looking at a statue of a man or woman whether they are a pureblood, half-blood, muggle-born, squib or muggle," Harry said, and Draco nodded his agreement.

"I didn't think of it like that," Theo admitted.

"Well there isn't any way of knowing," Neville pointed out, "So what is the answer?"

"Well the answer is Salazar Slytherin himself," Draco said, "Or at least, I'm fairly certain that it is. But how do we make him point to himself?"

"Conjure a mirror?" Theo said, as if this were the obvious answer.

Harry bit his lip to stop himself from laughing, "That was almost as bad as a famous Hermione Granger quote. We were trying to destroy a devil's snare and Hermione twigged that it was afraid of sunlight and fire so Ron told her to start a fire and she said, 'but there's no wood'!"

Theo rolled his eyes, "Really? I'm going to have to make sure I don't let her live that one down."

"Don't worry, Ron and I don't," Harry grinned as he conjured a mirror and placed it in front of Salazar's pointing finger. A few seconds later there was another rumble, slightly louder than it had been when the doors had opened. Part of the roof gave way and a fabric ladder dropped down.

Theo swallowed, "Can I just stay down here while you go up and arrest her?"

"No," Harry replied as he grabbed the ladder, "But you can form the rear if that makes you feel safer."

"Not really," Theo muttered as he watched the others begin to climb up the ladder.

The ladder was fairly difficult to climb and it went up for a long time until they reached a trap door. Harry used alohomora on it and pushed it open quietly. They all exited the small passageway and realised that they were in the cellar of Lestrange Manor. It wasn't locked so they did a location charm to determine where Tamsin Lestrange was and then they made their way upwards into the main building.

* * *

"You kissed Neville."

"I've kissed a lot of people Eddie," Daphne said irritably, "Not all of them male, not all of them magical, not all of them human."

Eddie raised an eyebrow, "Veela?"

"How did you guess?" Daphne asked with a hint of amusement.

"Seems your type," Eddie grinned, "Mind you, I always thought you were a Veela at school."

"You noticed me at Hogwarts?" Daphne asked in surprise.

Eddie looked at her knowingly, "Daphne, who didn't notice you in school?"

"Potter for one," Daphne said as she paced the basement, "He didn't even know we'd gone to school together until I started doing undercover work with him."

Eddie laughed, "Let's face it though, Harry was always too busy staring at and stalking Draco to notice that you were always with him."

"That's true," Daphne said with a smile.

Eddie had wormed his way through her defences, "Seriously though, is everything okay with you and Neville?"

"Ed, everything is completely fucked up with me and Neville," Daphne said honestly, "We can't work together and be together, but I can't quit because quitting means Azkaban."

"That's true for you, but not for him," Eddie said, "Think about it Daph, Neville isn't going to be on this team forever. He'll gradually work his way back up in the ranks and then he'll be back up in the main department. Once that's happened there isn't any reason why you shouldn't date and keep it on the down low like Dana and I."

"Eddie, everyone knows about Dana and you," Daphne chuckled, "Susan Bones even knows about it. Luckily for you everybody thinks you're a charming likeable guy so you get away with it."

"I can think of one person who doesn't like me," Eddie said quietly, shooting an amused glance towards the far side of the basement where Harrison was sitting alone.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "He's just jealous of what you and Dana have. Ignore him."

"Don't worry, I do," Eddie said with a rather wicked smirk.

Daphne laughed despite the worrying situation, and then the heavy metal door swung open. She and Eddie shared a slightly panicked look when they saw Hermione Granger stride into the basement. They had been instructed by Theo not to tell her anything about this case.

"Hey guys," Hermione said with a smile, "Where's Theo?"

"He's off working on a case," Daphne replied, technically that was true.

"Oh, what case?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Just a murder case," Eddie replied.

"And they're all working on it?" Hermione asked, glancing around the half empty basement, "What's so important?"

"They're just...surveying a crime scene," Eddie said, making it up completely on the spot.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "The leader of this team, the Head Auror, the best duellist on this team and the strategic mind of the team are _just_ surveying a crime scene?"

"Yes," Daphne lied.

"So this has nothing to do with the secret Lestrange Manor and the serial killer who has been leaving mutilated fingers all over the place?" Hermione asked, cocking her head at them.

"What?" Eddie asked in disbelief, "How did you know about that?"

"She didn't you idiot!" Daphne exclaimed as she whacked Eddie across the head with an old file, "But she does now!"

Hermione looked at them suspiciously, "What's he really doing?"

"They're just making an arrest," Daphne said, again it was a half-truth, "But to do that they've got to break into the manor hence why there's a team of them."

"So it's not dangerous?" Hermione asked.

"Nope," Eddie and Daphne chorused.

Hermione still didn't look convinced, but she dropped a box onto Eddie's desk anyway, "Alright then. If Theo's busy I guess you guys can just eat those doughnuts, I don't want them to go to waste."

Eddie nodded, "He'll floo you tonight when the case is closed, okay?"

"Okay," Hermione said, shooting another suspicious glance at them as she walked towards the door.

They thought they had gotten away with it, but just as Hermione was about to step out of the door Daphne's communication bracelet began to beep. She grimaced as she answered it and said, "Yep?"

Theo's voice echoed loudly around the room, "Hey Daphne. We're safely in Lestrange Manor. I'm in the basement at the moment reporting back. The other three have disappeared upstairs to arrest her. It doesn't look like a difficult job, we're all okay though. There were a couple of close calls in that creepy, dangerous maze underneath the manor. The walls nearly crushed us, Potter nearly got hit with a poisonous dart, there was a whole room full of snakes, oh and there was this room with a giant spinning blade that we had to crawl underneath."

"Right," Daphne said awkwardly, "Glad you're all okay."

"Yep, we'll be back with our murderer in less than half an hour if all goes well," Theo said cheerfully.

"Alright, see you soon then," Daphne said, and she ended the communication.

Hermione turned around and looked at them both, her eyes blazing, "He's not doing anything dangerous, he's just making an arrest? Spinning blades and walls crushing people are not classed as dangerous then?"

"But there wasn't any real chance of danger," Eddie lied.

"No real chance of danger?" Hermione exclaimed.

"It was Theo's fault, he made us promise not to say anything to you!" Eddie said, rather stupidly, "He even hid out at Dana's flat to avoid you finding out."

"Because he was _protecting_ you," Daphne said, glaring at Eddie, "Merlin Eddie, you're an idiot. Hermione, he was worried about you. He knows you're a bit reckless at times-"

"Reckless?" Hermione asked in disbelief, "How am I reckless?"

"Um," Daphne began awkwardly, "Well you went down a trapdoor to battle Voldemort when you were in 1st year, then you tried to go and look for a Basilisk _alone_ in 2nd year. You stood up to a werewolf in 3rd year, fought a battle in 5th year, fancied Weasley in 6th year. Then you went on the run for a year and broke into the Voldemort run Ministry of Magic _and_ Gringotts."

Hermione paused, "Well that's different."

"But it was reckless," Daphne reasoned.

"I wouldn't say it was incredibly reckless," Hermione said sheepishly, "And that's not the point anyway! Theo has to trust me with these things, we're in a relationship, he can't keep secrets just to protect me."

"But he cares about you which is why he wants to protect you," Daphne said as Eddie listened to them in bemusement, "You're not an Auror, he's shielding you from all of this."

"Which is pretty noble of him actually," Eddie said with a grin, "For a man who describes himself as Slytherin through and through."

Hermione sighed, "I suppose..."

"I think we should go and get some coffee Hermione," Eddie said as he got to his feet and gripped her arm, "Or maybe a glass of wine would work better...I can take you to Dana's flat and you two can talk about how useless Theo is."

"That will help," Hermione agreed.

Eddie nodded sympathetically, "Okay then," he said with a false show of solemnness. However, just before he left the basement with Hermione he shot Daphne an amused look.

* * *

Once Daphne had ended the communication with him, Theo climbed up the stairs into the entrance hall of Lestrange Manor. He glanced around and muttered, "This is creepy..."

A loud bang echoed somewhere above him and he jumped out of his skin, "Oh for Salazar's sake, I wish I had gone with them," he whispered.

The entrance hall had clearly once been grand and gothic, but it had fallen into ruin and as it was evening and the gas lamps weren't lit it was also very dark and incredibly creepy.

Thankfully Theo didn't have to wait long because moments later Draco and Harry began to descend the stairs with an eerily beautiful woman between them. Her hands and feet were bound but she was conscious. Clearly she was under a silencing charm however because her mouth was moving but no words were coming out. Neville followed them down the stairs silently and everyone came to a stop in the entrance hall.

Tamsin Lestrange was pale with jet black hair and deep brown eyes. She was tall and lanky and she looked demented. For a moment Theo wondered if she was actually the illegitimate child of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange but he didn't dare voice that thought in front of Neville.

"No confession yet, but we'll get one," Harry said calmly, "As soon as we can get her in an interrogation room."

Draco nodded, "Potter and I are going to apparate back and deal with the interrogation. Can you two go back and brief the others?"

"Sure," Neville replied as they stepped out of the front door into the bog land.

* * *

"Case closed, kind of," Theo said brightly as he and Neville stepped into the basement, "We've caught her and Draco and Harry are interrogating her upstairs. Hopefully they'll get something out of her, but if not they have enough evidence to use memory extraction in place of a confession."

Daphne nodded, "Thank Merlin for that."

Theo frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Well you're in the shit mate," Eddie said with an amused grin, "Your girlfriend came in here earlier and we had almost convinced her that you weren't doing anything dangerous. Until _you_ communicated with Daphne that was."

"She heard that communication?" Theo asked weakly.

"Oh yeah," Daphne smirked, "All of it."

"What did she say?" Theo asked anxiously.

"She shouted and tried to deny that she was reckless," Daphne said, amusement sparkling in her eyes, "Then Eddie calmed her down and took her to Dana's."

"She's with Dana?" Theo groaned.

"She's drinking wine at Dana's and spilling all of your darkest secrets," Eddie said with a wicked grin, "I didn't know you had a stuffed Hippogriff called Griffy."

"Oh fuck this," Theo muttered, "And fuck you Eddie. I'm going to Dana's to try and save my reputation."

"She was talking about decapitating Griffy, she's not happy!" Eddie called after his friend.

"Fuck off!" Theo shouted back as he sped up the stairs towards the apparition point.

"That was cruel," Daphne said, shooting an amused look Eddie's way.

"But it was worth it," Eddie cackled, "Do you reckon the boss needs us in or can I clock off? It's past 10 and I want to check on Dana."

"As the second in command, I'm telling you to go home to your girl," Neville said with a smile, "She's already ill and she's probably had to listen to Hermione rant for the past hour. Go and save her."

Eddie laughed and patted Neville on the back, "Thanks mate," he said as he hung up his Auror robes and left the basement.

This rather awkwardly left Neville and Daphne alone, Harrison had long since gone upstairs to do 'paperwork'. Neville didn't look at Daphne as he walked over to Draco's desk and opened the bottom drawer. He pulled out Draco's secret bottle of firewhiskey and began to walk towards the patio. When he reached the door he turned and looked at Daphne, "Are you coming or what?"

Daphne smiled slightly and followed him out onto the patio where, as always, it was a beautiful night. They sunk into the deck chairs so often occupied by Draco and Harry and Neville opened the firewhiskey. He took a sip and sighed appreciatively, "To not being dead!" he joked as he held it up.

Daphne chuckled as she took the bottle from him and drank from it, "I'll drink to that," she agreed.

Neville smiled over at her, "So Daphne, I've been thinking. I'm not going to be on this team forever. Harry really only needed me here to bind you guys together and make sure that everything ran smoothly while the team was starting off. As soon as I've worked my way back up to a Class I, I'll be getting promoted upstairs-"

"I know."

"-Don't get me wrong, I love working on this team, but," Neville stopped and frowned, "Wait, what? You know?"

Daphne nodded, "I know, it's only a matter of time until you're upstairs again, working with Harry."

Neville's frown deepened, "So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I can wait if you can," Daphne said honestly.

Surprise flashed in Neville's eyes, "Wait as in _wait_?"

"As in not sleeping with or dating other people, yeah," Daphne said, her intense blue eyes boring into him, "I am capable of commitment you know."

Neville smiled broadly at her, "Yeah, I know."

"Good," Daphne said as she grabbed the lid of the bottle from him, "And as your friend, I can't let you drink firewhiskey. You're a recovering alcoholic."

"I have more control than you think," Neville said calmly.

"All the same," Daphne said, screwing the lid back on, "As your friend and the person who is...well, waiting for you, I won't let you."

Neville's smile widened, "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Daphne said with a genuine smile.

* * *

"I come bearing gifts," Harry said brightly.

Daphne narrowed her eyes, "For who?"

"All of you," Harry said cryptically, "But first of all, for you."

Daphne frowned suspiciously at the box he had placed in her hands. Harry placed a box that looked exactly the same on Theo's desk and on Eddie's.

"Open them," Harry said cheerfully, "You'll like what's inside, trust me."

The three team members open the boxes and pulled out the item inside.

"Holy Mother of Merlin," Daphne breathed, "Is this an Auror badge?"

Harry beamed, "Yes, it is. You already have the robes but up until today you were classless which ranked you as Basic Aurors. It's not every day you bring down the daughter of the darkest wizard who ever lived though."

Theo stared at the badge in disbelief, "We're real Aurors now?"

"Class III's," Harry said cheerfully.

Daphne looked up at him with genuine emotion in her eyes, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me for something that you deserve," Harry said simply.

Eddie nodded numbly, "Thank you so much Harry," he said, refusing to take his eyes off his badge.

Neville smiled proudly at his friends and glanced at Harry, "It's about time."

"I've wanted to give them badges for ages," Harry said honestly, "But I had to wait for the powers that be to agree with me."

"We should go out for a drink to celebrate," Draco said, also casting proud looks at his team members.

"Good idea," Harry smirked, "But I'm not done yet. Promotions are in order too. Can I have your badge Neville?"

Neville nodded and handed Harry his badge with a knowing smile. Harry tapped the badge and muttered an incantation which changed the Class from III to II."

"Thanks mate," Neville beamed.

Harry smiled back at his friend, "Malfoy, your badge?"

Draco smiled weakly and held out his badge. Harry took it and tapped it just as he had done with Neville's. The III changed into a II and Draco stared down at the badge happily.

Harry smiled at them all, "I need a cigarette, but after that drinks are on me."

"We'll hold you to that!" Daphne teased.

Harry only laughed as he headed for the patio. He was aware of Draco following him, but they didn't speak until they were standing on the patio.

Harry sighed, "That's the part of the job that I enjoy, but sometimes I really hate it."

"I know that feeling," Draco said simply.

"And I'm out of cigarettes," Harry muttered, "Which doesn't make a bad day any better."

"Here," Draco said, handing Harry his own packet, "I think it's only fair after how many of yours I stole."

Harry smiled slightly as he took a cigarette from the packet and lit it, "I don't know how to feel," he admitted, leaning against the railing of the balcony, "I'm proud of how well your team performed and you all deserve your badges and promotions but-"

"But part of you is still conflicted about the case itself. You want to hate Tamsin Lestrange because of her parentage but you feel sorry for her," Draco said knowingly.

Harry nodded as he stared out into the night sky, "She was mad. She wasn't deranged like Bellatrix Lestrange, she was unhinged."

"How would you react if you found out Voldemort was your Father?" Draco sighed, "I think I'd go mad too."

"I would lose the plot," Harry admitted, "I'd become even more reckless than I already am."

Draco didn't laugh at his attempt at a joke, "What are they going to do with her? Azkaban would kill her quicker than the hangman's noose."

"They're not sending her to Azkaban," Harry said, "She's going to a secure psychiatric prison somewhere in Europe."

"Do you think they'll ever cure her?" Draco asked quietly.

Harry blew out a ring of smoke, "I don't know. You saw what she was like, she just stared at us blankly. She just kept saying '10 years, 10 fingers' and all of that other nonsense."

"I wonder what they'll find when they search her memories to extract a confession," Draco said, blowing out a ring of smoke and watching it disappear.

"It probably won't be a very pleasant experience, going into the mind of a mad person," Harry said sadly, "And just so you know, I'll tell Neville about this when I go home tonight. It's a sensitive subject and if you phrase it the wrong way he'll get pissy."

"I don't blame him, not after what happened to his parents," Draco said honestly, "And I do feel sorry for that girl you know."

"So do I," Harry said, "But it's scary too. The potential she had to become a dark lord...or lordess..."

"Lady," Draco said with a hint of amusement, "And Harry, your parents don't define you. Look at me, my Father was cruel and cold. He was the opposite of Robin Hood, he stole from the weak and gave to the powerful. He inflicted pain and misery, yet here I am, doing my best to help people in need."

Harry smiled at him, "I know. You're nothing like your Father, Draco. Maybe - wait, how do you know who Robin Hood is?"

Draco laughed, "That's the part of what I said that you picked out?"

Harry looked a little sheepish, "Well you don't seem like the type to read Muggle literature, no offence."

"None taken, Granger informed me about Robin Hood in one of her rants about my selfishness," Draco said in amusement, "In our Hogwarts days of course, I was curious so I looked him up."

"Fair enough," Harry said, still smiling, "As I was saying, maybe I was a little judgemental, but it was only because I was afraid. I don't want anyone to go through the kind of life that I went through, the kind of life that you went through. Nobody should be in the midst of a war when they're still at school. When I heard that Voldemort had a child I just imagined the worst for Teddy's sake...for my future children's sake."

"I did too," Draco said, ripping his gaze away from Harry and looking at the sparkling stars in the sky, "And I hate this job sometimes too but most of the time it's worth it. Today we had to send a crazy woman to a mental hospital but she murdered 10 innocent people and their families are going to be so grateful to have closure."

"That's true," Harry said as he put out his cigarette, "But it doesn't make this wrenching feeling go away."

"Firewhiskey might though," Draco said, shooting Harry a knowing smirk, "And I know this great bar on Moat Lane. As you've clearly never been to an all wizarding street apart from Diagon Alley, I feel like I should introduce you to the merits of one."

"Deal," Harry grinned as he pushed himself off of the railing, "As long as we can stop somewhere so that I can buy cigarettes."

"You need to handle this addiction," Draco joked, "It's taking over your life."

"You can't talk," Harry retorted as they left the balcony and made their way to the apparition point, bickering all of the way.

 **TBC :)  
**

 ** _A/N: The whole thing about trap streets was inspired by an episode in the latest series of Doctor Who. I thought it was a really cool concept so I applied it to Harry Potter :)_**


	13. Political Intrigue

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 13 - Political Intrigue  
**

"Do you think Potter's acting weird?"

Daphne bit her lip to hide her amusement, "Not really. He's happier than normal, how is that weird?"

"Because Potter when he's not being sarcastic and bitter is weird," Draco said honestly.

"He is allowed to be happy, Draco," Daphne said, filing away some old case files.

Draco hung up his Auror robes and frowned, "But he isn't normally so happy. Do you think he's seeing someone?"

"How should I know?" Daphne asked, she grabbed her jacket and flung it on, "You spend more time with him than I do."

"I've not really seen him over the last couple of weeks," Draco said honestly, "He's been busy with that smuggling case upstairs."

"That smuggling case has been a bit of a godsend," Daphne said honestly, "Neville going upstairs to help out has given me a break."

"I thought you two had made up," Draco said as they began to ascend the basement stairs together.

"We have," Daphne said, "But agreeing to wait for someone and then having to work with them and act normal isn't easy."

Draco smiled sympathetically, "Well if it helps, I think you made the right decision."

"It doesn't help," Daphne sighed. They reached the top of the stairs and Draco began to lock up the basement, "But do you know what would help?"

"Buying you dinner at your favourite restaurant on Moat Lane?" Draco asked.

"Exactly," Daphne said with an easy smile.

"Sorry, but your dinner is going to have to wait."

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he turned around to face Harry, "I've barely seen you in two weeks and then you show up as I'm locking up on a Saturday night?"

Harry looked a little guilty, but he also looked very different. His usual messy facial hair was gone and his hair had even been tamed a little. He wasn't wearing his usual red leather jacket, and he _didn't_ smell of smoke.

"I know that it sucks but this murder case just came in and there is nobody upstairs who is free to take it," Harry explained, "This smuggling ring is just getting bigger and bigger. It's taken the whole department by storm."

"Well we can decline cases," Daphne said matter of factly as she took the file from his hands, "So if this one isn't worth wasting our weekend on we won't...oh...it's an interesting one Draco."

Draco shook his head in amusement and took the file from her, "Riley Jameson...why do I recognise that name?"

"Because he worked in the Minister for Magic's office," Harry replied, "He was the Finance Minister."

Draco's eyes widened and then he smirked, "The Minister for Magic's Finance Minister was found dead in a brothel in Knockturn Alley? Yeah, we'll take this one."

"I thought you might," Harry said, amusement sparkling in his eyes, "Thanks Malfoy, you're doing me a big favour."

"I expect firewhiskey as payment," Draco said, unlocking the basement door.

"You'll get it," Harry called as he walked away, "Ogden's best!"

Draco chuckled and then gave the basement door a kick, "Time to call in the team."

* * *

"Are you going to ignore that forever?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow.

Theo nodded as the beeping on his communication bracelet got louder, "I plan to, yes."

Hermione shot him an amused look, "Theo, it could be important."

"It's Saturday night!" Theo objected, "It's about the only night of the week I get to spend with you when you don't work."

Hermione smiled brightly at him, "And I'm honoured, but you're not the first Auror that I've dated. When that bracelet goes you have to run off into the night, I know how it works."

"That was maybe how it worked with your other Auror boyfriends," Theo said, "But I'm not your typical Auror. I don't get a buzz out of fighting like _some_ people."

Hermione was trying very hard not to laugh, "You might as well just say his name. I know who you're talking about."

Theo looked at her with a genuine, fond smile, "I'm not Ron. I like my job but I'm not obsessed with it and I certainly won't leave you on a Saturday night to go and look at dead bodies-"

They were interrupted by the loud whir of the fireplace in front of them. Theo groaned in frustration as Hermione reached for her wand, "Don't answer it."

"It's obviously important Theo," Hermione said simply, grabbing her wand from the coffee table, "But I appreciate the thought, really."

Theo grumbled all the same and Hermione activated the floo. Unsurprisingly Draco's face appeared in the fireplace, and he didn't look best pleased, "Finally! I floo-ed your flat, and I tried your communication bracelet about 5 times. I figured you'd be here, we've got a case."

"It's Saturday night, I refuse to go anywhere," Theo said calmly.

Draco smirked, "What if I told you that our victim was found dead in a brothel in Knockturn Alley?"

"I'd say that's boring," Theo replied.

Draco's smirk widened, "Well what if I said that the victim was called Riley Jameson?"

Hermione's eyes popped, "The Finance Minister?"

"One and the same," Draco replied smugly.

Theo glanced over at Hermione, "Hermione-"

Hermione smiled fondly at him, "Go, Theo."

Theo grinned at her and turned to the fireplace, "I'll be there in 10, Draco."

* * *

"This case better be huge and important," Eddie said as he stalked into the basement, "Because you dragged me away from my Saturday night."

"Dana's working upstairs anyway," Draco said offhandedly, "What would you have been doing if you weren't here?"

"Watching Netflix and drinking beer," Eddie grumbled.

"I'm not even going to ask what Netflix is," Draco said, grabbing a brown file and sitting on the edge of his desk, "But as you are all here now, I will brief you on the case."

"And trust me Eddie, it's an interesting one," Daphne said cryptically.

Draco nodded his agreement, "Our victim is Riley Jameson."

"The finance Minister?" Eddie asked in disbelief.

"Yes Eddie," Theo said with a smirk, "The _Finance_ Minister. Wait till you hear where they found him."

"He was found in the 'reputable' institute that we know as Sally's," Draco said, aware that everyone in this room would know _exactly_ what he was talking about.

Eddie's eyes widened, "He was found in a brothel? The finance Minister?"

"He was found dead in a brothel," Daphne added, "It doesn't look good for our Minister, does it?"

"I don't think Percy Weasley is going to get elected for another term after this scandal." Draco said, sounding far too pleased about this fact.

Eddie shook his head in disbelief, "How come we have the case?"

"Upstairs are still rushed off their feet with that big smuggling ring they uncovered," Draco said with a wave of his hand, "So we're getting the overspill, as usual."

"This department is ridiculously understaffed," Theo said irritably.

"Budget cuts," Daphne shrugged.

Draco ignored them and continued with the case briefing, "Anyway, the basic crime bunch already surveyed the crime scene and the body is currently with the coroner. They didn't find anything suspicious but we'll have another look anyway. The coroner did say that the cause of death was definitely asphyxiation but we'll know more about how he died later."

"So what now?" Theo asked.

"I'm going to go and have a second look at that crime scene with Eddie," Draco replied, "And you two are going to Sally's."

Daphne frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean you're going to go and talk to Sally," Draco said, "You've known her for years Daphne and I'm pretty sure Theo is acquainted with her. If anyone is going to get anything out of her it's you. We need to know about everyone who works there and the type of clients they get."

"Sally won't divulge any details about her clientele, you know that," Daphne said, narrowing her eyes at Draco.

"Make her divulge," Draco said with a pointed look, "You'll think of something, I'm sure of it."

* * *

"Uh Draco, the apparition point is that way," Eddie pointed out as Draco walked towards the stairs leading into the main department.

"I know, I need to talk to Potter about something before we head out," Draco replied, "There was a page missing from the file, it must have fallen out when he was bringing it down here."

"Oh, right," Eddie said, sounding a little sceptic.

He followed Draco into the main department anyway. It was busy and bustling, as it always was when there was a big ongoing case. The team office was hectic, Dana was arguing with someone down the floo while Harrison sat with a huge stack of paperwork on his desk. Ron was nowhere to be seen and neither was Harry.

"Stay here," Draco said to Eddie as he walked over to Harry's office. He knocked hard at the door and after a moment heard Harry call, "Come in!"

Draco opened the door and got a shock when he realised that Harry wasn't alone in his office. He was sitting at his desk and someone was sitting on it, a rather attractive someone at that. Draco didn't recognise the man, he had short mousy brown hair and dark blue eyes. His face was young and cheerful and he smiled brightly when he saw Draco which only pissed the former Slytherin off more.

"You must be the fabled Auror Malfoy," The man said in a thick Dublin accent, "I've heard loads about you. Harry reckons you're one of the best around here, I'd have never of thought it when we were at school."

Draco frowned, "We were at school together?"

Harry bit his lip and cut in, "Yes, this is Oliver Rivers. He was in our year, in Hufflepuff."

"Ah," Draco said, "Well I don't remember you, sorry."

Oliver shrugged and didn't seem phased by this, "Oh it's alright. I was fairly quiet, I wouldn't expect you to remember me. I mean _I_ remember you but it was kind of hard not to notice you at school. You did seem to like to draw attention to yourself."

"Mostly by insulting me across the great hall," Harry added.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry, "No offence Oliver, but what are you doing here?"

"Oh I was just bringing Harry dinner," Oliver replied, "He's been forgetting to eat with this case, you see?"

Draco nodded slowly and caught Harry's eye. The dark haired man said, "He's my boyfriend, Draco."

"Oh," Draco realised, "Right, sorry. I wasn't aware you were...well, openly dating men."

Harry shrugged, "There's a first time for everything. I'm sure the press will cotton on soon enough, but at least I won't have to hide who I am anymore."

"True," Draco said.

"Anyway, what brings you here?" Harry asked.

"There was a page missing from the case file," Draco replied, "I didn't know if it had any important information on it."

"Oh, yes," Harry realised, "It was just the tail end of the coroner's initial report. It said that the victim's wedding ring was gone, and it looked like it had been taken forcefully."

"After his death?"

"That was what the coroner thought," Harry said with a nod.

"Right, thanks," Draco said somewhat awkwardly, "Enjoy your Saturday night. It was nice meeting you Oliver."

"You too," Oliver smiled.

* * *

"Please don't tell Hermione that I had to come to a brothel as part of this case," Theo whispered.

Daphne looked up at the fairly ordinary building they were standing in front of in Knockturn Alley, "Don't tell Neville and I won't tell Hermione."

"Deal," Theo said simply.

"Come on," Daphne sighed, "Let's get this over with."

Theo followed her into the 'reception' of the brothel. Inside it was very grand and posh looking, but it was all a farce for what it really was. It was supposed to look Victorian, or at least that was always what Daphne had assumed. The booths had marble tables and leather seats, and there was a very nice bar. But upstairs was where the bedrooms were and subsequently, where all of the money was made.

Daphne stepped up to the desk, "Hey Loretta."

The young blonde woman looked up and smiled, "Oh hi Daphne! Are you here to see Sally?"

Daphne nodded, "Is she here?"

Loretta nodded, "She's just upstairs, did you hear about the dead guy? It's really rattled her."

"I heard," Daphne said, "It won't be good for business."

Loretta shook her head and lowered her voice, "It's been so quiet tonight," she said as Theo stepped forward into the light, "Oh hey Theo. Harley is free tonight, she's still your favourite, right?"

Theo looked a little embarrassed, "I've got a new favourite, but thanks Lorrie."

"He's trying his hand at the serious relationship thing," Daphne explained.

Loretta grinned, "Ooh, good luck Theo!"

Theo rolled his eyes at her sarcasm, and Daphne said, "So Sally's just in her office?"

"Yep, go on up," Loretta said cheerfully.

Daphne smiled at Loretta and headed for the stairs with Theo hot on her heels. As they climbed up the marble stairs, adorned with a red velvet carpet, Theo asked, "Why are you looking so nervous Daphne? I thought you and Sally were friends."

"We were," Daphne said quietly, "Until I quit."

"She won't begrudge you for that," Theo said.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Daphne sighed, "I always thought that I was better than this place and Sally knew that. When I left I took some of her best clients with me."

Theo looked a little nervous, "How mad do you think she'll be?"

"I don't know," Daphne replied, stepping off of the staircase and making a beeline for Sally's office.

When she reached the door she hesitated for a moment before rapping her knuckles against it. A voice immediately called, "Come in!"

Daphne took a small breath to steady her nerves and stepped inside. Theo followed her and shut the door behind him. There was a desk in the small office and a chair behind that desk. Sitting in the desk was Sally, the owner of this 'fine' establishment. She was tall and skinny with long, luscious curled hair. Her hazel hair, combined with her pale complexion and deep green eyes, ensured that she was a very beautiful woman.

Her eyes scanned Daphne with interest and then she said, "It is true."

Daphne narrowed her eyes at Sally, "What is?"

"That you're working with the Aurors," Sally replied matter of factly.

Daphne and Theo hadn't worn their Auror robes for this visit. They generally didn't if they wanted to go back into the criminal world that they had grown up in. Something about them was clearly fishy however and Sally was very perceptive at the best of times.

"I had heard the rumours," Sally said, cocking her head at Daphne, "When all of my best clients came back here because you had left the business I got suspicious. Most of my girls were saying you had probably just gotten pregnant, but Daphne Greengrass does not mess up contraception charms. I figured that the law had probably caught up to you."

Daphne rolled her eyes, "I'm not just working with the Aurors, I _am_ an Auror and so is Theo."

"The law caught up to you both then," Sally said with an amused glint in her eye, "I wondered why I hadn't seen you around here in a while, Theo."

"It has nothing to do with the Aurors," Theo said stubbornly.

"He's got a girlfriend," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "A very nice, sensible girlfriend. A Gryffindor at that."

Sally smirked, "Haven't you two both grown up?"

Daphne bit back a nasty comment, "You know why we're here Sally."

"I've no idea," Sally remarked.

"The Finance Minister died in your brothel," Daphne said bluntly, "He was choked to death, and I need to know who was with him the night that he died. I need to know who found his body."

"Client confidentiality Daphne," Sally said as she tapped her nose, "I can't say."

"You had better say," Daphne said firmly, "Because if you don't there will be hell to pay. This case is high profile, the Aurors are never going to let this slide. If you don't give us the information we need to find out who killed this man, your entire business will be brought to the ground. I'll name every worker I know here and I'll even help with the raids that will follow."

Sally looked unsettled for the first time. Something akin to fear flashed in her eyes, "You would bring yourself down in the process."

"I have immunity," Daphne said, "I work for the Ministry. The only person I would bring down is you, Sally."

Sally swallowed and gave a miniscule nod, "He liked Keeley, she was his favourite and I think that was who he was seeing that night. Harley found him in the bathtub the next morning."

"Thank you Sally," Daphne said with false kindness, "Your business lives to fight another day."

Sally did not say another word as Daphne opened the door and led Theo back towards the staircase. They didn't say a word to each other until they were well out of earshot.

"I think that went well," Theo remarked.

"It did actually," Daphne agreed, "But when you threaten someone's business they tend to give you what you want. We need to talk to the two girls that Sally mentioned, I'll talk to Keeley. You should talk to Harley, you know her better than me."

"But Hermione will-"

"Don't sleep with her and it will be fine," Daphne said simply.

* * *

"You have been really quiet since you came out of Harry's office."

"I'm focusing on the case," Draco muttered irritably.

Eddie glanced up at the building in front of them, "We haven't even gotten to the crime scene yet, and speaking of the case-"

"I won't tell Dana you were in a brothel," Draco said, shooting Eddie a vaguely amused look as they stepped into the reception area. Unlike Daphne and Theo, they were wearing their Auror robes so the moment Loretta saw them she knew why they were there.

"Oh, you're the Aurors who are coming to see the crime scene!" She exclaimed, "I was told to take you to it when you get here. Gosh! Eddie! I didn't know you were an Auror."

"It's a recent development," Eddie said sheepishly, "Where's the crime scene Lorrie?"

"It's the big posh room on the top floor," Loretta said, leading them towards the stairs, "But I'll take you there. This whole thing is horrible, isn't it? Poor Harley was such a mess when she found him."

"So something like this has never happened here before?" Draco asked.

Loretta shook her head, "No, Mr...? Sorry, I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"Malfoy," Draco said calmly, "Draco Malfoy, and I've never been here which is why you haven't seen me here. Is this the first instance of a serious crime here?"

"There have been things every so often, sure," Loretta said, "Like things have gone missing and sometimes the men get a bit aggressive after a few firewhiskeys but never a murder Mr. Malfoy. He was murdered, wasn't he?"

"Unless he choked himself to death, yes," Draco replied.

Loretta gasped, "He was choked to death? Who would do something like that?"

"That's what we're trying to find out Lorrie," Eddie said gently as they stepped off of the staircase on the top floor.

Loretta nodded tearfully, "It's that door there. The basic crime Aurors put barriers and everything on the whole room so that nobody can get in."

"It's so people can't tamper with the crime scene," Eddie explained, "Thanks for all your help Lorrie."

"It's okay Eddie," Loretta said, "But I hope you find who did it. I hope it isn't someone who works here, that would be horrible."

"We'll get to the bottom of it," Eddie promised.

Draco silently used his badge to gain access to the crime scene and they both stepped through the barrier. Once they were inside the bedroom Eddie said, "Now that was bad form. That poor girl was actually upset and you were all cold and cruel. You're bad Auror and I'm good Auror, clearly."

"What?" Draco asked blankly.

"It's a muggle thing," Eddie muttered, "What has put you in such a bad mood?"

Draco glared at Eddie, "Did you know Potter has a boyfriend?"

"I suspected," Eddie admitted, "I mean he shaved his beard and stopped wearing his leather jackets. He's even trying to stop smoking, people only do shit like that if they're in a relationship. Who's he dating?"

"Some Irish guy called Oliver Rivers," Draco said, "He was a Hufflepuff."

"Oh, Ollie!" Eddie said, "He's a really nice guy. We were friends at school, we sort of fell out of contact though...I wonder what he's doing these days."

"Apart from Potter?"

"I meant what he was doing for a job," Eddie said with a knowing smirk, "But you sound pretty jealous."

"Jealous?" Draco asked in disbelief, "Why would I be jealous about Potter dating some Irish guy?"

Eddie bit his tongue and stopped himself from saying, 'Because you clearly fancy the pants off of Harry Potter.'

"Anyway, we have a job to do," Draco said, "The case file said he was found in the bath, come on."

Eddie dutifully followed Draco into a large, grand bathroom. The tub had been drained but apart from that the room had been left exactly as it was when the body was found.

"I don't see anything suspicious," Eddie said as he looked around, "No signs of a struggle..."

Draco nodded, "He didn't see it coming. Maybe he was asleep or maybe he just trusted his murderer, but there certainly doesn't seem to have been a struggle. What about DNA?"

"Just doing the test," Eddie said, he was waving his wand around in circular motions with his eyes shut tightly. After a few minutes he lowered his wand and said, "Done."

Draco dimmed the lights and all fingerprints shone in the darkness, "What do the colours mean?"

Eddie bit his lip, "Each colour is a different DNA print."

"Are you saying there are fingerprints in here matching 6 people's DNA?" Draco asked in disbelief. He put the lights back on.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Eddie said.

Draco sighed, "I'm starting to regret taking this case. I could have been having a lovely dinner with Daphne right now, instead I'm doing _this._ "

"You have to admit though, it is an interesting case."

"I'm admitting nothing," Draco said in frustration, "I'm going back to the basement, I've got a few files I need to look over. I need you to gather the fingerprints of every worker in this place, alright?"

"Yes boss," Eddie said.

* * *

"Are you Keeley?" Daphne asked a young redhead.

The girl jumped, she didn't look much older than 19 or 20. She was wearing a skimpy dress and her long red hair was flowing down her back. She was very pretty, if a little vulnerable looking.

She nodded slowly, "Who's asking?"

"I'm Daphne Greengrass," Daphne said gently, "I'm with the Aurors, and I used to work here."

"You went from working here to working with the Aurors?" Keeley asked in surprise.

Daphne nodded and sat down across from the girl in the bar, "I started working for Sally when I was 17."

"Me too," Keeley said, staring down at her glass, "What was your excuse?"

Daphne frowned, "Well, it was sort of complicated. I didn't get on very well with my parents so when I finished school I moved in with my boyfriend. He wasn't involved in the nicest of things so I ended up working for Sally to make ends meet."

"Not because he forced you to work for her?" Keeley asked.

Daphne looked down at the marble table, "Like I said, it was complicated."

"When did you quit?" Keeley asked.

"I quit working for Sally when I was 22," Daphne replied, "And I quit working in this business about 6 months ago."

"I don't know how I'll ever be able to quit," Keeley sighed, "It's the only way I can stay in the magical world, nobody else will employ me."

"You're a squib," Daphne realised.

Keeley nodded miserably, "I love it here, I don't want to go live in the muggle world. They're so boring there, but I'm an outcast wherever I go."

"I'm sorry," Daphne said, and she really meant it.

"It's okay," Keeley said, "You need to talk to me about Riley, don't you?"

Daphne nodded, "Yeah, I do."

"He was a nice guy," Keeley admitted, "That's what's so horrible about this. Some of the guys in here are horrible bastards, but Riley was nice. He never hurt anyone, he was just here because he needed that kind of stimulation, you know?"

"He was married," Daphne reminded her.

"I know," Keeley sighed, "But his wife was frigid and he had such a stressful job. He felt bad about it, he sometimes even cried. He was a sensitive guy, I don't know why someone would want to do this to him."

"Keeley, you must have been the last person to see him alive," Daphne said, "You realise that means I'll need an alibi from you, right?"

"I know and I've got one," Keeley said, "Last night Riley came in and asked for me, like he normally does. I talk to him and I think he likes that, I think it made this whole thing feel less harsh and fake for him, you know?"

Daphne nodded, and Keeley continued, "So we slept together and then he said he was going to go for a bath. He did that quite a lot so I went downstairs to get a drink. I ended up getting caught up in a...well you can guess what was going on, and I really needed the extra cash. By the time I was getting ready to head back upstairs it was the early hours of this morning and Harley was running down the stairs screaming that Riley was dead."

"Who could have gotten into that room while you were gone?" Daphne asked.

"Anyone," Keeley replied, "The rooms aren't locked, but Loretta was on the door all night so it must have been someone who was already inside the building...unless they used the back entrance behind the bar."

"Who can verify your alibi then?" Daphne asked.

"Georgie and Tammy, they were the girls I was with at the time," Keeley said.

"Okay, thanks for being honest with me Keeley," Daphne said as she got to her feet, "Don't go too far until this has been solved, alright? We might need to ask you some more questions."

"Sure thing," Keeley replied.

* * *

"Harley."

The woman in front of Theo spun around and smiled broadly at him, "Theo! It's been ages!"

Theo smiled nervously at her. Harley was beautiful, she had tanned skin and jet black hair. Her eyes were a warm shade of brown and she had a beautiful smile.

"I know, I sort of...met someone," Theo admitted.

Harley's smile widened, "That's great! You were always so lonely, I bet she's nice."

"She's great," Theo said honestly, "It's actually business that I'm here on, Harley."

"You're here with the Aurors," Harley said.

"Is it that obvious?" Theo asked.

Harley smiled slightly, "To me, yes. I'm glad you found something though Theo, you were wasting your talent before."

Theo chuckled, "Thanks, I guess. Look Harley, I hate to do this but I have to talk to you about what happened this morning."

Harley's smile disappeared.

"You found Riley Jameson, didn't you?" Theo prodded.

Harley sighed, "Yes, I did."

"What were you doing up there?" Theo asked as gently as he could.

"I was trying to find a room, I had a client," Harley replied, "I noticed there was nobody in that one so I went to check it out and then I saw him...in the bath."

"Did you see anything strange while you were in there?" Theo asked.

Harley shook her head, "No, just him."

"You're sure?"

"I'm sure."

* * *

Draco groaned and threw the file he had been reading on his desk. He _was_ in a terrible mood tonight, Eddie had been right about that. He stalked out to his patio and lit a cigarette, staring out into the night sky like it was the reason for his anger.

"God, that smell makes it hard to resist," Harry's voice said from above.

Draco rolled his eyes, "If you come down, I'll give you one."

There was silence for a moment until Harry dropped down onto Draco's patio. It was rather impressive to watch, considering the gap between the two. As promised, Draco held out a cigarette and Harry took it gratefully.

"What the hell has happened to you?" Draco asked.

Harry frowned, "Hmm? How do you mean?" he asked, breathing a sigh of appreciation as he took his first drag of the cigarette.

"The leather jackets are gone, and so is your facial hair," Draco pointed out, "And you're trying to stop smoking?"

"Ollie," Harry replied as he blew out a ring of smoke, "He thinks it's a disgusting habit, and he doesn't like facial hair. He thinks its ticklish."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Since when does Harry Potter change for anyone?"

"Since when does Draco Malfoy defend me?" Harry asked with an amused look, "What's brought on your foul mood anyway?"

"This fucking case," Draco said irritably, "The crime scene is covered in finger prints. None of the workers at the brothel are using their real names. I spoke to a Harley Davidson and a Loretta Lynne today. How am I supposed to do anything without real identities? Then there's this report about the Finance Minister's spending over the last month but it's magically encrypted and I can't make out a bloody word of it!"

"Woah, Draco," Harry said calmly, "You need to calm down. It's my fault, I shouldn't have given you this case on a Saturday night. Why don't you go home and come back to it with fresh eyes in the morning?"

Draco sat down heavily and shook his head, "It has nothing to do with it being a Saturday night. I just don't like this case, something about it doesn't sit right with me. Do you know that every other member of my team is on first name terms with the people who work in that brothel?"

"Well I'm not surprised," Harry said honestly, "It's a fairly popular place for people involved in the criminal underworld."

"Well I never went to it and I never will," Draco said distastefully, "I find it depressing that people feel they have no other option than to pay for sex."

"Some people do feel that way though," Harry said, "I never have and I never will either but you've got to admit that you get lonely sometimes."

"I get lonely for company," Draco said, aware he was probably over-sharing, "I miss having someone to talk to and rant to when I'm in a bad mood. It's not the sex that I miss, I can go to a club and meet someone and have that easily. Meeting someone who actually understands me and wants to talk to me is the hard part."

Harry smiled slightly, "Well I know it's not the same, but I'm here to talk if you ever need it. And I'll always listen to you rant about cases, I know how frustrating they can get," he stubbed out his cigarette, "But I think you should go home."

"I will, once I've had re-brief with the team," Draco promised.

Harry caught his gaze and held it for a moment too long, "Good. I'll see you tomorrow. I should have time to drop in and check up on the case after church-"

"Church?" Draco asked in disbelief.

Harry looked sheepish as he replied, "Oliver's a muggle-born and it's important to him so whenever I stay over on a Saturday I go to church with him on a Sunday."

Draco shook his head, "You're a lost bloody cause Potter," he muttered as he stalked back into the basement just as Daphne and Theo returned.

"Eddie's still collecting DNA samples," Daphne yawned, "He told me to tell you that he'd probably be a while so to do the re-brief without him."

"It's more of a debrief," Draco said, "Because when we're done I'm sending you all home tonight. We can reconvene tomorrow morning, but it is a Saturday night. Anyway, Eddie and I found lots of different fingerprints at the crime scene so analysing them is going to take a long time."

"It sounds like the girls all share the rooms," Theo said, "So it might not make a difference. Those fingerprints could all be innocent."

"All the same, we have to check that the fingerprints all match people who work at the brothel," Draco said quietly, "But beyond the fingerprints, the crime scene was a dead end. Did you two have more luck?"

"Sally is going to be co-operative because I threatened her with Auror raids if she refused to help us," Daphne said, "I talked to the girl that was with Riley Jameson the night he died and I don't think she had anything to do with it. She can't be older than 20 and she's pretty vulnerable. Her alibi checked out too."

"I spoke to Harley, the woman who found his body," Theo said, "And she seemed pretty shaken up by what happened. Everyone at the brothel did."

"Apart from Sally," Daphne said pointedly.

"Alright," Draco yawned, "Well I found this finance report. It was something that Riley was working on but it's magically encrypted so I'm going to give it you, Theo. Go through it tomorrow and come back into work when you have something out of it, if he was working on anything dodgy it might be the reason he was killed."

"Will do," Theo promised.

"Are we free to go then?" Daphne asked.

Draco nodded and hung up his Auror robes, "I'll see you both in the morning," he said as he exited the basement as fast as humanly possible.

* * *

"We need to find someone for Draco."

Eddie frowned as he looked up from his report, "To screw?"

"No, to date," Daphne replied, "He's lonely."

"I thought he was just jealous that Harry was dating someone," Eddie said, surprisingly perceptively.

"Oh, he is," Daphne agreed, "But he's lonely too and I think he needs someone to show him that Harry Potter isn't the best thing in the world."

"What are you thinking then? Blind dates?" Eddie asked eagerly, "Because I know tons of people-"

"Yeah, I know your love guru stats," Daphne laughed, "And I don't trust them, _I'll_ do the setting up Eddie."

"But the million pound question is this," Eddie said with a smug grin as footsteps echoed on the basement stairs, "Are you going to set him up with a man or a woman?"

"From how much he's pining over Potter at the moment, I think he needs a man," Daphne replied in an amused whisper.

Moments later Draco stepped into the basement, looking slightly less tired than he had the night before. He went straight to his desk, took a file from his bag and began to read it, without a word to Daphne or Eddie.

"Are we getting instructions today or not?" Daphne asked pointedly.

"I'll give you something to do when I know what we're doing," Draco said, without taking his eyes off of the report, "And until I've read this report, I don't know what we're doing."

"What is the report?" Daphne asked curiously.

"It's what Theo managed to get out of that finance report I found," Draco replied, "Is the detailed report from the coroner here yet?"

"No," Eddie yawned, "It's Sunday, he's not working. It's one of the temps from St. Mungo's that come in and cover."

"Well go over there and find out what's taking so long," Draco said irritably, "I need more information. I'm going to go and talk to his wife, what she said in her initial interview to the basic crime lot doesn't seem right to me."

"Yes boss," Daphne said with a mock salute. She grabbed Eddie's arm and led him out of the basement.

* * *

"I'm sorry to stop by so early on a Sunday Mrs. Jameson," Draco apologised. He had just taken a seat in the very nice living room of Riley Jameson's house.

"I'm officially a widow Auror Malfoy, you can call me Jaqueline."

Draco smiled sympathetically, "Sorry Jacqueline. My team and I took over your husband's case and I just have some follow up questions to ask you."

"Ask away," Jacqueline said with a heavy sigh. She looked younger than her husband, but stress had given her premature lines on her face. She had thick black hair and a pale complexion, Draco guessed she probably had French roots.

"You told the basic crime Aurors that you knew your husband was having an affair," Draco said, "How long had you known?"

"For about a year," Jacqueline replied, "He thought that he hid it well, but I knew. Riley knew that I knew, we just never spoke about it."

"Did anyone else know?" Draco asked.

"As far as I'm aware, no," Jacqueline said, "But he was acting strange for the past month or so. He seemed paranoid, like he saw this coming. I thought it was just because things were stressful at work but...maybe I was wrong."

Draco nodded slowly as the cogs whirred in his head, "Did you know what he was working on?"

Jacqueline shook her head, "I never understood. He encrypted all of his reports so that foreign ministers couldn't steal his ideas. All I know is that it was something big, something that was really stressing him out."

"There's just one more thing. You didn't give the basic crime Aurors an alibi when they interviewed you," Draco said, "And we do need to ask you what you were doing between the hours of midnight on Saturday and 6am on Sunday morning."

"I was here, asleep," Jacqueline replied simply, "And no, nobody can verify that because I was alone."

"Okay," Draco said, rising to his feet, "Well thank you for your help, Jacqueline. We'll be back in touch if we have any further questions for you."

* * *

 _Knock. Knock._

"What do you want?" An irritated voice called from behind the door.

Daphne resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she opened the door and stepped into one of the rooms used by the coroners at St. Mungo's, "Information."

"Yeah? So does everyone else, you'll have to wait," The irritated looking man in front of them said.

Eddie stepped forward, "Ant, stop being a prat and help us out here."

Daphne then clicked and realised that this was Anthony Goldstein, the boy who had been famed for breaking broomsticks when they were at Hogwarts. Suddenly his short temper made a lot more sense.

Anthony rolled his eyes at Eddie, "I've got three bodies that need examining and three Aurors breathing down my neck for the results. Why should I give you the special treatment?"

"Maybe because we're working on this case for Harry Potter," Daphne replied shortly, "The _Head_ Auror. He wants results Goldstein and he wants them now. Where's Riley Jameson?"

He didn't look happy about it, but Anthony pulled a sheet off of one of the three stretchers in the large room. Cold, pale and dead on that stretcher was none other than Riley Jameson.

"Here," Anthony said, "He was strangled, as I said in my initial report. That's not particularly interesting, but this is...from the markings around his neck my best guess is that the murder weapon was a bra strap."

"A bra strap?" Eddie asked in disbelief.

"He was found dead in a brothel," Daphne said dryly, "Are you really surprised?"

Eddie shrugged, and Anthony continued, "His wedding ring was definitely removed after his death, but there are no traces of DNA on his finger so I can't say who took it from him. The strange thing about this whole situation is that it seems like a woman killed him. But by the deepness of the marks and the angle that he was strangled, it looks like it was a man."

"Or we'll dealing with a tall, strong woman," Daphne added.

"They would have to be very tall and very strong," Anthony said, "Because there was no way that magic was used to kill this man."

"Okay," Eddie said quickly, before Daphne could start a fight, "Did you discover anything else unusual?"

"Nothing," Anthony replied, "Normally the fact he had sex a few hours before he was killed would be useful, but he was found in a brothel so..."

"Yeah," Eddie said awkwardly, "Well thanks for your help, Ant."

"My pleasure, Eddie," Anthony said sarcastically.

"You've been charming as always," Daphne said sarcastically as they were forced out of the room and the door was slammed rather hard in their faces.

* * *

"Daph!"

Daphne stopped in the corridor between the main justice department and the basement. Eddie shot her an amused look, "I'll leave you two to catch up," he said, wiggling his eyebrows as he continued in the direction of the basement.

Daphne turned around and put on a smile as she faced Neville, "Hey."

"Hey," Neville said back, a smile lighting up his tired face.

"You look exhausted," Daphne said, her eyes scanning him.

"I am," Neville admitted, "I can't wait for this case to be over so I can get back downstairs for a bit of a break. How is your case going?"

"We've not really got anywhere yet," Daphne said, leaning against the wall, "And it's a bit too personal for my liking."

Neville frowned, "Because of where they found him?"

"I worked there," Daphne said bluntly, watching Neville to see the disgust she expected to see on his face, "When I left Hogwarts I worked for Sally until I eventually got the guts to quit."

There was no disgust, if anything there was sympathy, "Well look at where you are now, that's what matters."

Daphne frowned slightly, "But I only ended up here because of chance. If Harry and Draco hadn't wanted to recruit me, then I wouldn't have been threatened with Azkaban. I'd still be doing what I used to do, I wouldn't be on this team."

"But you are on this team," Neville said with a smile, "And you're here because you deserve to be here."

"What about other people who don't deserve to be where they are?" Daphne argued, "What about people who are really stuck in that kind of life? I can't do anything for them."

Neville leant against the wall next to her, "Who do you want to help?"

"Why does it matter?" Daphne asked, "I can't do anything for her."

"You don't know that," Neville pointed out, "Who is she?"

"She's a girl who works for Sally," Daphne admitted grudgingly, "She can't be more than 20 years old, and she clearly only works for Sally because nobody else will hire her. She's a squib."

Neville looked thoughtful, "I have a few friends who might be able to find something for her...let me have a think and get back to you, alright?"

"Alright," Daphne said, smiling very slightly at him, "Thanks Neville."

"Your welcome," Neville said, pushing himself off of the wall and smiling brightly at her as he walked back towards the main department.

* * *

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Draco said loudly, making sparks fly out of his wand.

Daphne, who had just entered the room, leant against her desk and looked at her boss. Eddie was here too, but Theo was still absent.

Draco looked a little bit more cheerful than he had earlier, "I think I might be onto something. Riley's wife had known for about a year that he was having an affair. Riley knew that she knew, therefore I highly doubt that she killed him. She doesn't have an alibi for the night he died, but it was the middle of the night so not many people do. She said that he had been paranoid in the last few months and that he was working on something very secretive."

"You think he was being blackmailed," Daphne realised.

Draco nodded, "And if Theo can work out what's in that secret finance report, we might know why. He's still working on it, but the report he gave me this morning was still very jumbled and I couldn't get much out of it. Now Eddie, did you get anything back about the fingerprints at the crime scene?"

"Yep," Eddie replied, rummaging on his desk for a file and pulling out a piece of paper, "Most of the finger prints belonged to Riley Jameson himself and Keeley Kandy; real name Kelsey Mitchell. The other 4 sets of prints were Harley Davidson's; real name Halle Garcia, Georgia Monroe; real name Gillian Gregg, Sally Anne-Perks a.k.a Sally, and Felicia Phelps."

Draco had listened intently, "Keeley, Georgia and Harley's alibi's checked out so you can scratch them off. Sally's alibi hasn't come back yet, but it's being checked. Who is Felicia Phelps?"

"She's a cleaner," Eddie replied, "She goes in once a week on a Friday morning and cleans the rooms."

"We'll need to check her alibi," Draco said thoughtfully, "Did you get that report from the coroner?"

"No, but we did get some more information," Daphne replied, "Riley was strangled with a bra strap."

Draco sighed, "Which implies a woman did this."

"He did say something was weird about this whole thing," Daphne added, "He said that it looked like a woman had done this but that he thought it was a man. Apparently the marks were pretty deep and the angle implied that whoever had strangled Riley was tall."

Draco's frown deepened, "Alright...Eddie, go and question the cleaner please. Daphne, chase up Sally's alibi."

Eddie walked towards the door to grab his robes, and Daphne made her way over to the fireplace as heavy footfalls echoed around the basement stairs. Draco looked at the door expectantly and was relieved when he saw Theo run in looking excited.

"What did you get from that report?" Draco asked anxiously.

"You will never believe this," Theo said a little breathily, "The report was top secret because it wasn't sanctioned by the Minister's office. He was fiddling, he was taking money out of the national budget and putting it towards a secret project."

"What project?" Draco asked, leaning forward on his desk with anticipation.

Theo's eyes shone with something akin to excitement, "A dragon blood smuggling ring. He was taking money out of the budget to fund it."

"The smuggling case that upstairs have been working on for the past two weeks?" Draco asked in astonishment.

Theo nodded again, "It was making a lot of money, selling the blood of rare dragons on the black market. The Aurors are working with Hermione's lot to try and arrest those responsible so that the dragons in question don't go extinct. The Aurors haven't been able to get anywhere near the funding side of things, and this is why."

"I have to take this to Potter," Draco said, snatching the report from Theo's hands, "Well done Theo, amazing work!" he shouted as he jogged from the basement.

He slowed down as he walked along the corridor, and took a breath before stepping into the main department. He weaved through the crowds to the office that Harry's team occupied. It was empty apart from Ron when Draco stepped in.

"Do you need Harry?" Ron asked glumly.

Draco nodded, "I think I've just accidentally found out who was funding your smuggling ring."

Ron's eyes widened, "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Draco said, "My case and your case just got tied in a really complicated knot. Is Potter in his office?"

Ron nodded, "Uh yeah, just go in."

Draco walked up to the door, knocked loudly once and then opened it. He could have cursed out loud when he saw Oliver Rivers sitting on Harry's desk _again_.

"Oh Draco, hi," Harry said distractedly.

"Hello Potter," Draco said calmly, "How was _church_?"

Harry glared at him, "Fine, Malfoy. What do you need?"

"I need a word in private," Draco replied, "I have sensitive business that I need to discuss with you."

"Business that can't be discussed in front of someone without security clearance?" Harry asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Yes," Draco replied, "It's very sensitive information, trust me."

Harry sighed, "Sorry Oliver, I'll have to pass on lunch. This sounds important."

Oliver smiled, "It's alright, I'll see you for dinner instead?"

"Sure," Harry replied, smiling sheepishly at the former Hufflepuff as he got to his feet, and left the office.

When the door had snapped shut behind him, Harry said, "What do you want?"

"I want to slag you off for going to church," Draco said matter of factly as _he_ lounged on Harry's desk, "But I need to tell you that I just found out who was funding your smuggling ring."

"Seriously?" Harry asked in shock.

Draco nodded smugly, "My victim, Riley Jameson."

"The _Finance_ Minister?" Harry asked, the tone of his voice a little more high-pitched than normal.

Draco dropped the report onto his desk, "Yes, but there's more to it than that. He was being blackmailed, I'm certain of it."

"What gives you that impression?" Harry asked as he scanned the report.

"He was paranoid in the months leading up to his death and he was working on a top secret project which turns out to be the funding of an illegal smuggling ring," Draco said, "Combine that with the fact he liked to go to a brothel to relieve pressure. If someone in that ring found out about his extra-curricular activities they could easily blackmail him into funding their criminal smuggling ring."

"You make a good point," Harry said as he shut the report, "And we're officially working together on this one now. Find out who killed Jameson, because when you do they might lead me to the people behind this smuggling ring."

Draco gave him a determined nod, "I will."

Harry nodded back, "Oh and Draco?"

"Yes?" Draco said, his hand on the doorknob.

"Why don't you like Oliver?" Harry asked, "I thought you two might get on."

"You thought I would get on with a Hufflepuff who doesn't like to smoke or drink and goes to church?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow, "As someone who smokes, drinks and doesn't believe in anything that he can't see. You really thought that?"

Harry smiled sheepishly, "Yeah well, when you put it like that..."

Draco smirked slightly, "See you around Potter."

"Keep me updated."

"I will."

* * *

"Who killed Jameson?"

"Uh, that's what we're trying to find out," Theo said.

Draco shook his head, "No. We know now that Jameson was funding the smuggling ring. We also suspect that he was being blackmailed so that he would fund that ring. He had been having an affair with a young brothel worker and his wife knew about it. He had been stealing money from the Minister's office. So who had motive?"

"His wife," Daphne replied instantly.

"Someone in the Minister's office who found out what he was doing," Eddie suggested.

"Someone who found out that he was funding the smuggling ring and wanted to stop it," Theo said, "Like an Auror."

"You think an Auror did this?" Draco asked in surprise.

"Well think about it," Theo said, "If he was funding the smuggling ring, nobody involved with it had motive to kill him. But someone who wanted to stop it, did."

"True," Draco said slowly, "So we agree that he was killed because of the smuggling ring. We don't know who killed him, but we do suspect that it's a man."

"Which rules out his wife," Daphne said.

"Not necessarily," Draco said with a slight smirk, "His _wife_ didn't kill him personally. Does that mean that she wasn't behind his death? No. She could have had someone else do it for her. Dig deep into Jacqueline Jameson's life and follow her, I need to know everyone that she interacts with on a regular basis. I need to know if she knows anyone who has been in Azkaban or was once involved in the criminal underworld."

"You want to know if she knows an assassin," Daphne realised.

"Exactly," Draco replied, "So Theo and Eddie, I'm leaving that aspect of things to you. Daphne and I are going to review Harley's memory of the moment she found Riley's body, I'm sure that we missed something at the crime scene."

* * *

"Are you free tonight?" Daphne asked Draco casually.

Draco glanced at her, "Why? Are you asking me out?"

"I gave up on you a long time ago," Daphne smirked, "But I do have plans for you. Are you free?"

"I want to say no," Draco said, narrowing his eyes at her, "But that would be a lie. I'm free, why?"

"Well that's handy," Daphne said brightly, they were walking through the main department to find a room where they could use a pensieve, "Because you have a blind date tonight."

Draco groaned, "Daphne, what have I told you about those? They never end well! Who is it with?"

"I'm not telling you," Daphne grinned, "That's the whole point of a blind date, Draco."

"Well where is it then?" Draco asked.

"A nice little wizarding bar in Essex," Daphne replied, "Small and discreet, the way you like it."

"Man or woman?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"Blind date Draco, I'm not telling you," Daphne said again.

"You could at least tell me the bloody gender of the person you're trying to set me up with!" Draco said irritably as he opened the door to one of the memory viewing rooms.

"If you're going to be frustratingly bisexual then you are going to have to find out for yourself," Daphne said simply, "Blind dates are supposed to be blind. You're meeting at 9pm tonight."

"Unless I don't go," Draco pointed out.

"You're going," Daphne said, "Even if I have to frogmarch you there. I went to too much trouble to arrange this to let you stand him up."

"Him!" Draco exclaimed, "So it's a guy."

Daphne cursed inwardly, "Fine, it's a guy! But you won't get any more than that out of me!" she objected, pouring the memory into a pensieve to avoid being interrogated further by her friend.

* * *

"This is kind of creepy."

"It's a bit too much like stalking," Eddie agreed. He and Theo were camouflaged and had spent the last few hours following Jacqueline around. Thus far all that they had discovered was where she liked to shop and that she enjoyed Thai massages.

"Do you know Draco's going on a blind date tonight?" Eddie asked in amusement, "Daph set it up."

Theo snorted, "Woman or a bloke?"

"Bloke," Eddie replied, "She reckons he needs a man since he's been pining over Potter for the past few months."

Theo laughed quietly as Jacqueline came out of the massage parlour, "Who's this blind date with?"

"Oliver Wood," Eddie said in an amused whisper.

Theo had to hold his hand to his mouth to muffle his laughter, "Gryffindor, Quidditch player, that one?"

"Yep," Eddie said as they followed Jacqueline into an alleyway, "She thinks he's similar enough to Potter for it to be a success."

Jacqueline apparated away. Theo used a spell to discover her apparition co-ordinates and they followed her. She emerged in an alleyway and then began to make her way towards a large apartment building.

"She's either right and it will work or she's wrong and it will be a disaster," Theo said to Eddie as they continued to follow Jacqueline.

"I'm betting that it's going to be a disaster," Eddie sniggered. They had followed Jacqueline into the apartment building and were currently walking up a set of stairs.

She knocked on a door, and they made sure they checked the number on that door. After a few seconds the door swung open and a man appeared in the doorway. He smiled broadly at Jacqueline and kissed her. Eddie and Theo grinned with anticipation as Jacqueline was swept into the flat and the door was shut behind her.

"Did you see that guy?" Theo whispered.

Eddie nodded and whispered back, "He was tall and muscular, exactly like the murderer."

"We better go back and tell Draco that we have a possible suspect," Theo whispered, "But before we do, what do you say to revisiting our old job of breaking and entering?"

Eddie frowned, "What do you mean?"

"If we can sneak in there and somehow get a swab of DNA or even just a fingerprint, it could help as evidence," Theo replied, "So what do you say?"

As realisation shone in Eddie's eyes he said, "Let's do it."

* * *

"Please tell me that you found something," Draco said as he stared blankly at his desk.

"Yes, we did," Theo said triumphantly, "Didn't you two?"

"Not exactly," Draco replied, "We did forget to scan the bedroom for finger prints as well as the bathroom and it's been cleaned now. We did our best to do it in the memory format but there was only one extra set of finger prints and we haven't been able to find a match."

"What if I had a sample that you could crosscheck, would that help?" Theo asked.

Draco narrowed his eyes at his friend, "Yes. What did you find?"

"Jacqueline has a lover," Theo said, pulling his wand out and doing a charm that made a fingerprint appear in mid-air, "We don't know his name but we did write down his address."

"I'll put it through the database," Daphne said, taking a slip of paper from Eddie.

Draco had taken his wand out and conjured up the fingerprint he had found at the crime scene. The two prints merged together and glowed green which made Draco's eyes widen, "It's a match!"

Theo and Eddie shared a triumphant look as Draco slipped his wand back into his pocket, "Daphne, find out who this guy is and when you do, make sure you do a background check. Eddie, let's go back to the brothel and see if any of the girls remember seeing this guy on Saturday night. We'll go via the print room so you can turn your memory into a picture."

Eddie nodded, and Daphne busied herself with work. The basement was busy and bustling again, they were finally getting somewhere with this case.

* * *

"Good news!"

Daphne jumped when Draco stepped into the basement, "They recognised him?"

"At least three of the girls definitely remember seeing him on Saturday night," Draco said cheerfully, "And they are willing to provide their memories as evidence if required. He's our guy."

"I think you're right," Daphne agreed, "His name is Robert Stevenson. He is 45 years old and he's a retired Auror. He started out in basic crime and worked his way up the ranks until he was working for the top team. He never married and he has no children, he retired when he turned 40."

"An ex Auror would definitely want to stop a smuggling ring," Draco said, "Especially if his lovers Husband was funding that smuggling ring."

"An ex Auror would also know how to cover it up," Theo pointed out, "Killing him in a brothel with a bra strap and removing his wedding ring was clever. It led us down the complete wrong track until we found that encrypted finance report."

"This is our guy," Draco agreed, "And we have the evidence to arrest him. Whether we'll get a confession out of him easily… I don't know. But we do have enough evidence to extract his memories and convict him."

"Here's his address," Daphne said, holding out a slip of parchment.

Draco took it and smiled slightly at her, "I think you should make the arrest with me. This one was personal for you, I think you deserve it."

Daphne only nodded.

Draco then turned to Eddie and Theo, "Go and update Potter, I'm sure he's going to want to sit in on this interrogation."

* * *

"Where is Mr. Stevenson?" Harry asked the moment he saw Draco in the main justice department.

"In Interrogation 1, just waiting to be grilled by a certain Head Auror," Draco said in amusement.

Harry smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, I'm transparent, I know. Come on, we'll interrogate him together. This is still your case."

Draco opened the door and they stepped into the interrogation room together. They took seats opposite Robert Stevenson who stared at them intently.

"You were an Auror once Mr Stevenson," Harry said calmly, "You know how this works."

"I do," Robert said, just as calmly, "Which is why I won't answer any of your questions."

"You don't need to," Draco said simply, "We already have enough evidence to extract your memories. Your fingerprints were in the bedroom adjoining the bathroom where Riley Jameson was murdered. You were seen by at least three of the workers at the brothel on Saturday night close to the time that Mr. Jameson was murdered. Those workers are willing to provide their memories of this recollection to help prosecute you."

Robert narrowed his eyes at him, "You need a warrant signed by a judge to extract my memories without my consent."

"A warrant that looks like this one?" Draco asked, sliding a piece of parchment across the table.

Robert swallowed visibly as he looked at the paper. He licked his lips and glanced up, notable nerves in his eyes.

Harry looked impressed with Draco's work, "So Mr. Stevenson, we will get your memories and you will be convicted with or without a confession. All we can do for you now is lessen your sentence. If you are completely uncooperative you will be heading straight for Cell Block Z in Azkaban. I'm sure you know what the Death Eaters and murderers would do to a former Auror in there."

Robert swallowed again, but remained silent.

"If you do give us a written confession we can ensure you will be in Cell Block A or B," Draco continued, "Which would be far more comfortable for you."

"But you would still be serving a life sentence in Azkaban," Harry said, "With no hope of parole for at least 20 years. That would make you 65 by my reckoning by the time you got out. You were an Auror yourself so you know how this works. If you tell us who was blackmailing Riley Jameson you could serve 15 years and get out for good behaviour."

Robert looked down at the table for a long moment. Harry and Draco remained silent as they allowed him to think over this decision. Eventually he looked up and said, "I'll confess and give you their names for a guaranteed place in Cell Block A and the chance of parole after 15 years."

"Deal," Harry said, shaking his hand and sliding the confession paper over, "Write it all down and read it out too please, for the surveillance charms."

Robert sighed and began, "I've been with Jacqueline for just over a year now. She knew about Riley's affairs but he never cared enough to notice hers. When Riley started acting strangely I followed him and I realised that he was funding the smuggling ring that has been in the press recently. I thought by getting him out of the way it would put an end to the problem."

"But it was also pretty convenient for you," Draco said, "Because it would leave Jacqueline as a widow, free for you to marry. Right?"

Robert nodded reluctantly.

"So you killed Riley and tried to make it look as if someone else had," Draco stated.

"I thought if I killed him in _that_ place and made it look like one of his whores had done it that nobody would ever look at me as a suspect," Robert admitted, "Clearly the Ministry isn't the same place that I left."

"Clearly," Harry and Draco said in unison.

"Write it all down," Harry re-iterated, "And then Auror Malfoy will transport you to a holding cell until your trial. Can I leave this in your capable hands, Auror Malfoy?"

Draco nodded, "I'll finish this up," he said.

* * *

"Draco! You're going to be late for your date!"

Draco rolled his eyes, "That was my intention, Daphne."

"Well you still have time to get there," Daphne said, her eyes glancing to the clock. It was quarter to 9pm.

"No I don't," Draco objected, "I'm in my work clothes and I don't have time to go home and get changed-"

"Easily fixed," Daphne said, waving her wand and transfiguring his black trousers and white shirt into a pair of smart jeans and a red polo shirt.

"Red?" Draco asked distastefully, "Gryffindor red? Oh you fucking haven't!"

Daphne grinned, "Run along Draco, you don't want to keep your lovely date waiting."

"You've set me up with a Gryffindor?" Draco asked in disbelief as Daphne dragged him out of the basement towards the apparition point, "Oh hell no, it better not be Finnegan. It isn't Finnegan, is it?"

"It's not Finnegan," Daphne replied honestly, "He wasn't even in our year, I doubt you'll remember him."

Draco narrowed his eyes at her, "Older or younger?"

"Older," Daphne replied quickly as she pushed him onto the apparition point, "The Toads Eye, Essex. On you go, have fun!"

"I hate you," Draco said without much real venom.

He turned on his heel and disappeared. Daphne clapped her hands together triumphantly and began to make her way upstairs in the hope of catching Neville before he headed home for the night. She was in luck, because she found him leaning against the railing on Harry's balcony.

"Do you have a minute?"

Neville spun around, "Oh Daphne, hey! I was just about to come and find you. I think I found a job for your squib friend."

"Did you really?" Daphne asked in surprise, "I thought you just said that you would ask around to be nice."

"I like to help people in need too," Neville said with a soft smile, "My friend Hannah is the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron. She's looking for a new waitress to work full-time, she doesn't do background checks or anything like that. She just wants someone who will work hard. Does that sound like your girl?"

"I think so," Daphne said with a real smile. She stepped forward and kissed Neville gently on the lips, "Thank you so much, I'll go and tell her the news right away."

Neville returned her smile, "If she's interested, she's to go to the Leaky Cauldron at 9am tomorrow."

"Thank you Neville," Daphne said again before rushing out of the department.

* * *

"Hey again Daphne!" Loretta said brightly, "I heard that you caught the guy who killed Riley."

"We did," Daphne said with a smile, "And he's going to go away for a long time."

"Good," Loretta said genuinely, "Are you here to see Sally because if you are, you should know that you really annoyed her the other day-"

"I'm not here to see Sally," Daphne cut in, "I'm here to see Keeley."

"Oh Keeley's just in the bar," Loretta said cheerfully, "She's not with a client so feel free to go on through."

"Thanks Lorrie," Daphne said, smiling at her old friend and stepping into the bar. She spotted Keeley right away and made a beeline for her table. She sat down without invitation and Keeley looked up, surprised to see her.

"Hey."

"Hey," Daphne replied, "I have a very important question for you and I need you to answer it honestly, okay?"

"Okay," Keeley said slowly.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Daphne asked.

Keeley frowned, "But I'm working...I can't just leave."

"You can if your intention is to never come back," Daphne told her.

Keeley's eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

"I've found a job for you," Daphne said, a smile playing on her lips, "How do you fancy being a waitress at the Leaky?"

"Seriously?" Keeley asked, excitement beginning to break through her harsh façade.

"Seriously," Daphne replied, "My...boyfriend...knows the landlady. She doesn't care about background checks, all she wants is someone who is willing to work hard."

"I would work so hard if it means never having to come back here," Keeley said in an excited whisper.

"You would have to go back to using your real name, Kelsey," Daphne said quietly.

Keeley nodded, "I'll shrug off everything to do with this place, the name and all. I swear."

"I believe you," Daphne said honestly.

"I won't disappoint you Daphne," Keeley promised.

Daphne smiled at her, "I know that you won't. Now come on, let's get out of here."

Keeley positively beamed at the thought.

 **TBC :)  
**


	14. The Greater Good

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 14 – The Greater Good**

"So... how did it go?"

Draco glared at Daphne and sat down silently at his desk. He busied himself with the stack of parchment there in the hope that if he didn't say anything, she would stop talking.

He should have known better really because he knew Daphne and he knew that Daphne didn't just let something like that slide.

"How did what go?" Neville asked curiously. It was Monday morning and now that the smuggling case upstairs was being wrapped up he was back in the basement with the team.

"Draco's date," Eddie and Theo chorused.

Daphne was watching Draco intensely, "So how did it go, Draco?"

"How do you _think_ it went?" Draco snapped, "Have you seen Potter this morning?"

"Nope," Daphne replied, "Stop changing the subject."

"I'm focusing on work because I'm _at_ work," Draco said irritably, "Longbottom, have _you_ seen Potter this morning?"

"Briefly," Neville replied, "He's tying some things up but he said he'll be down at some stage today to talk to you about the case. I heard that you broke the smuggling ring wide open."

Draco nodded absentmindedly, "Well our murderer happened to know who was blackmailing the Finance Minister, and the Finance Minister was funding the smuggling ring. I figured Potter might want to know about that information."

Neville nodded, "He did. So, who did you go on a date with?"

Draco groaned in frustration. He ignored Neville's question and looked at Daphne, "Why on earth did you think that setting me up with a Gryffindor was a good idea?"

"Opposites attract, Draco," Daphne said matter of factly, "I thought you might like a Gryffindor."

Draco scoffed, "Opposites attracting is one thing, complete polar opposites is another! He spent the entire night talking about Quidditch! I like Quidditch as much as the next guy but I don't want to hear about every single goal he's saved in his entire career!"

"Oh, so he's a Keeper?" Neville smirked, "And a Gryffindor? Well there's only one person it can be..." he looked at Daphne in disbelief, "...how did you ever think setting him up with Oliver Wood was a good idea?"

"Thank you!" Draco exclaimed, "See? I am not the only one who thinks that's a match made in Quidditch hell!"

Daphne opened her mouth to defend herself but before she could, Harry Potter stepped into the basement and looked at the scene in amusement, "What's going on?"

"Daphne set Draco up on a date with Oliver Wood last night," Theo replied quickly.

"Oh...she did, did she?" Harry said, a slight frown forming on his face, "How did it go, Draco?"

"Terribly," Draco said irritably, "As anyone with half of a brain could work out."

"Oi!" Daphne objected.

"Apparently he spent the entire night talking about every goal he'd ever saved in his career," Eddie grinned.

"Yep, sounds like Oliver," Harry said, he sounded vaguely amused now, "His life revolves around Quidditch, it has done since I met him."

"You like Quidditch too, it can't have been that much of a disaster," Daphne said.

"It couldn't have gone worse," Draco objected, "How could you think I would be attracted to someone like him? He was so egotistical and Quidditch obsessed. Not to mention loud, far too muscly and so talkative! He told me his whole life story the moment I met him, I mean talk about over-sharing!"

"So you want someone modest who isn't obsessed with Quidditch," Neville said in amusement.

"Someone quiet and not very talkative," Theo added.

"And someone who will definitely not over-share," Eddie finished.

"Basically, not a Gryffindor," Harry said with a strange sort of smile.

"Exactly!" Draco remarked, missing the look that passed across Harry's face.

"Alright then," Eddie said to avoid an awkward moment, "I'll arrange your next blind date and I'll make sure that it's not with a Gryffindor."

"No more blind dates!" Draco snapped, pushing himself to his feet, "Potter, do we have a case to discuss?"

"Yes, we do," Harry replied, "But I have something else to do first. Daphne, can I see your Auror badge please?"

Daphne frowned, "Why?"

"Because you're getting a promotion," Harry smirked, "Badge please."

Daphne's eyes widened but she passed her badge to Harry anyway. He quickly changed her Class from III to II and handed it back to her, "Authorised by Susan Bones herself for exemplary service on that last case."

"Thank you," Daphne said, and it was clear that she meant it.

"You deserve it," Neville said, beaming at her from the other side of the basement.

Harry smiled at Daphne too, "You really do. Malfoy, shall we discuss this case?"

In response to this, Draco opened the door to the patio and led the way out, shutting the door firmly behind him once Harry had stepped outside. The first thing that he did was light a cigarette.

"Did the information Stevenson give you help?" Draco asked, keen to talk about anything other than his date.

Harry nodded, "We caught the blackmailers which unlocked the entire case. We've made over 20 arrests across the country. The paperwork is a bitch, but the case is formally closed."

"Good," Draco said stiffly, "You closed your case, and I caught my murderer. We all got what we wanted."

"I guess so," Harry agreed.

Draco held out a cigarette in a bid to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.

Harry shook his head, "I'm stopping, Oliver-"

"Oliver doesn't like it, you mentioned," Draco said dryly.

"Oh for Godric's sake!" Harry snapped, "What the hell is your problem with Oliver? All of my other friends like him and he's one of the more decent people I've dated! Why do you have to make all these stupid remarks every time he's mentioned?"

Draco blew out a ring of smoke, "You clearly got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Harry glared at him, "I'm trying to stop smoking and it's really hard, especially when you're smoking right in my face so would you just answer the fucking question?"

"I just don't think you should be dating someone who wants to change everything about you," Draco said irritably, "That's not exactly healthy, is it?"

"I wouldn't know a healthy relationship Malfoy, because I've never had one," Harry said, "But unlike other people I've dated Oliver doesn't hate my job, he understands it. That's kind of a deal breaker you know, not many people want to date an Auror!"

"Nobody understands our job," Draco scoffed, "And you're being naïve if you think he does. What does he even do for a living anyway?"

"He works in the floo department," Harry replied.

Draco snorted, "So he understands being an Auror? Nobody understands apart from other Aurors, unless we put our lives in danger all of the time we don't understand, alright? If you want to date someone who understands, date an Auror!"

"Yeah that's a great idea! Because there are _so_ many gay Aurors around," Harry said sarcastically, "Oh wait...there aren't any!"

Draco shook his head in disbelief, "Well that confirms one of my suspicions then," he said as he stubbed out his cigarette rather aggressively on the ground, "You clearly don't actually think of me as an Auror, despite that badge you gave me."

Harry's eyes widened, "But you're not... I mean...you don't _just_ date men-"

"Stop digging that hole deeper, Potter," Draco said coolly.

He opened the patio door, a little too roughly and stepped into the basement.

* * *

Draco had been avoiding Harry as much as he possibly could considering the fact that they worked in the same department. Luckily due to the fact that the paperwork still needed to be completed on the huge smuggling case Harry was very busy.

Draco and his team had gone back to handling petty crime until any large cases came their way, and Draco had been pushing down all of his team member's attempts to set him up on blind dates.

Two weeks had passed since their last 'big' case when Harry stepped into the basement. He looked tired and his facial hair was back which caught Draco's interest.

"Case," Harry said simply, waving the folder absentmindedly before dropping it on Draco's desk.

"What kind of case?" Draco asked, picking the folder up and opening it.

"Triple murder," Harry said, perching on Draco's desk, "It needs to be solved quickly and my team are busy working on a kidnapping case. You heard about the Deputy Minister for Magic's daughter being kidnapped, I presume?"

Draco nodded, "They still haven't found her?"

Harry shook his head, "Not yet."

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, his eyes scanning Harry, "You look like you've barely slept."

"I haven't," Harry said, fighting back a yawn, "But I'll be fine. Just please promise me that you will do your best to solve this case quickly, before anyone else dies."

"Of course," Draco said, watching Harry carefully as he walked out of the basement.

"He'll be fine," Neville said, to Draco and the team more generally, "Some cases just hit home harder than others, you know that yourself."

Draco nodded and looked down at the case file, "Okay so we have a triple murder. Theo, start noting this on the board please…The first victim is Kelly Harkness, 21-year-old muggle-born from East London. Second victim is David Jones, 23-year-old muggle-born, also from East London. And the third victim is Lesley Logan, 20-year-old muggle-born. Guess where she's from?"

"East London," The team chorused.

Draco nodded and Theo said, "So someone is picking off muggle-borns. You know what I'm thinking, right?"

"Death Eater, Voldemort sympathiser, Grindelwald fan," Eddie rattled off.

"General prejudiced arsehole basically," Neville finished.

Draco nodded slowly, "Yes, I agree with you. But the method of murder is slightly…unusual."

"How?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Each victim received a letter 48 hours before their death," Draco said, frowning down at the case file, "A letter that said they would die in 2 days to cleanse the wizarding world."

"So someone was warning them before they killed them?" Eddie asked with a frown.

"That's morbid," Daphne agreed.

"How did they actually die?" Theo asked, "Is there a cause of death on the report?"

Draco shook his head, "Not as such. The coroners initial report said that it looked like they had died of fright."

"This is sounding like a weird one," Neville said with a frown.

"Of course it is," Eddie remarked, "We always get the weird ones."

"But this isn't your average weird one," Draco said, "Because if we don't act quickly there will be a fourth victim. The pattern seems to be female, male which means our next victim is going to be a man."

"Do you know how many muggle-born men in their 20's live in East London?" Daphne asked, "There's no way of predicting who the next victim will be."

"We have to at least try," Draco said with a dark look in his eyes, "Because if we look at the facts on this case file, the fourth victim will have already received his letter. Jones received his letter the night Harkness was killed and Logan received hers the night Jones was killed. By that logic our next victim received his letter last night when Logan was killed."

"Which gives us about 35 hours to find the victim and protect him," Neville said.

The air had suddenly become very tense and serious in the basement. Draco nodded, "Eddie, I need you two to find me a list of all muggle-born wizards living in the East end of London between the age of 19 and 24. Theo, I need you to examine the letters received by the victims for fingerprints or any shred of DNA evidence. Daphne, find me any known Death Eaters or sympathisers living in the area. Anything from a written warning for a racist slur at school to time in Azkaban, okay?"

"Got it," Daphne said with a nod.

Finally, Draco turned to Neville, "Neville, re-examine all three crime scenes. Maybe the basic Aurors missed something."

"What are you going to do?" Neville asked as he grabbed his Auror robes.

Draco slung his own robes on and replied, "I'm going to talk to the coroner. I don't believe that anyone can just die of fright."

* * *

When he reached the coroners room in the basement level of St. Mungo's, Draco knocked loudly on the door.

"Come in!" A male voice called.

He stepped into the room and came face to face with their usual coroner. They had never actually seen him however; they normally only saw his name on the bottom of the coroner's reports.

"You must be Mr. Corner?"

"Michael," He said with an easy smile, "Just call me Michael. You're Draco Malfoy, If I remember correctly?"

Draco nodded, "We were at school together, weren't we?"

Michael looked very familiar to him somehow. He was tall with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He had a kind smile, and he was very attractive. Michael nodded, "We were. I was a Ravenclaw so you never paid much attention to me. You on the other hand though, I knew who you were."

Draco raised an eyebrow, "For all the wrong reasons, probably."

"Not to begin with," Michael said honestly, "But you're doing okay now, you're an Auror."

"So they say," Draco said, rolling his eyes, "But whether that translates to doing okay…"

Michael laughed, "Did you come all the way down here just to chat to me or is it the stiffs you're interested in?"

Draco found himself smiling, "As pleasant as it is to talk to you, it's information that I'm after."

"Well I can give you lots of it," Michael said, "And it's interesting information too. Did you read my initial report?"

Draco nodded, "Forgive me for being sceptical but people don't just die of fright."

"No, they don't," Michael said, "But I can't find a normal cause of death for any of these victims. It definitely wasn't the killing curse, it leaves a very specific mark on the nervous system. I can't find any traces of poison and there is not a single mark on the bodies. They all seem to have just been perfectly healthy, until they dropped dead."

Draco frowned, "Do you have any idea why that could be?"

Michael shrugged, "The only thing I can think of is a curse. If someone is killed by a cursed object it is often designed to cover up the cause of death. That's why it was such a popular method in ye olde days. Now people tend to be a bit more boring when it comes to killing people."

Draco looked up at the Ravenclaw in amusement, "Has anyone ever told you that you're very morbid?"

Michael laughed, "I spend all of my time with dead people, what do you expect?"

Draco shook his head in amusement, "Well if you can keep looking at this from the cursed angle that would be very helpful. Floo me if you find out anything new, this case needs to be solved quickly or we'll have a fourth victim soon."

Michael nodded, understanding the seriousness of the conversation, "Of course. Oh and one more thing."

Draco paused with his hand on the door knob, "Yes?"

Michael smirked, "You should come down here and visit me more often. It's far more interesting than just sending a report up to your desk."

Draco smiled back and said, "Noted," before making his way back towards the ministry.

* * *

"Alright, listen up! It looks like the letters are more than just a warning," Draco said as he addressed his team in the office, "They seem to carry a curse with them. The coroner thinks that's the reason for the cause of death being so strange."

Theo's eyes widened, "But I…I…"

"You what, Theo?" Eddie asked.

"I touched one!" Theo exclaimed, "I touched one of the letters when I was examining it! Does that mean I'm going to die?"

Draco tried not to panic. He was the leader, his role was to stay calm in a situation that would normally warrant panic, "Maybe the letter only curses the victim or maybe it only curses the first person to touch it," he said calmly, "Stay here and stay calm. I'm going to find an expert in curse breaking to consult on this case."

Theo nodded, his eyes wide with fear. Eddie patted his friend on the shoulder and tried not to look as concerned as he felt.

Draco on the other hand swept upstairs, through the main department and into the office Harry's team worked in.

"Potter around?" He asked Harrison.

Harrison nodded, "In his office."

Draco walked past the junior Auror and stepped into Harry's office without knocking. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes when he saw Oliver sitting there. He and Harry were laughing as they shared a late breakfast together. Was there any meal that they didn't share?

"Malfoy," Harry said with a surprised look, "What brings you here?"

"A disturbing development in my case," Draco replied, ignoring Oliver's presence, "The victims are being cursed. The letters they received prior to their death weren't warnings. Those letters were cursed and now a member of my team has touched one of those letters. I know when to admit that I need help and right now I am admitting that we need a curse breaker in on this."

Harry nodded sombrely, "I'll get the best as soon as I can, I promise."

Draco nodded stiffly at the Gryffindor and swept out of his office.

* * *

"Did you find someone?" Theo asked the second that Draco had walked back into the basement. He was pure white and looked terrified.

Draco nodded, "Potter is bringing in the best as soon as he can. But until then we have got to keep working on this. If you _have_ been cursed Theo, you have 48 hours. That's more than our next victim. We're now sitting at 33 hours, what do we know?"

"There are roughly 100 wizards who match the criteria living in the East End of London," Eddie replied, "And no way to work out who is next."

"The letters seem entirely normal," Theo said quietly, "No DNA, no fingerprints. They passed an ordinary curse detection scan but if it goes deeper than that…"

"You wouldn't know because you're not a curse breaker," Draco said with a nod, "Daphne?"

"No known Death Eaters live in the area," Daphne replied, "And the list of sympathisers is very short. All the crimes are miniscule, a comment about a muggle-born made at school or a pub fight over blood purity. Nothing like a triple murder."

"You never know what could send a person over the line," Draco said, "Everyone has a breaking point and all it takes is for someone who already hates muggle-borns to snap. We will need to investigate everyone on that list. How many names are there?"

"Four," Daphne replied.

"We will divide and conquer then," Draco decided, "Neville, did you find anything?"

Neville nodded grimly, "The basic Aurors missed a pretty big clue. Each crime scene has the killers mark at it. All three crime scenes had this mark etched into a wall somewhere close to where the body was found."

"What is the mark?" Draco asked.

Neville looked concerned, "It's the mark of the deathly hallows. Draco, we aren't dealing with a Voldemort sympathiser here. We're dealing with a Grindelwald one."

"Why is that worse?" Daphne asked, looking between them with a frown.

"Because the sick bastards sympathise with Voldemort," Draco replied, "The ones that want power and will do anything to get it. Voldemort sympathisers hate muggle-borns but their only motive is to gain more power for themselves by ridding muggle-borns from our society."

"But Grindelwald sympathisers…" Neville said, "They are smart. They dislike muggle-borns but they think that they can control them by giving them a house-elf like status. They know Grindelwald's policies and they believe them. They aren't just power hungry maniacs, they are smart power hungry maniacs."

"Who know how to imbed powerful curses into parchment, clearly," A new voice said from the doorway.

Everyone turned to the voice, but only one person recognised the man who had just stepped into the basement. He had long red hair, a piercing in one ear and he appeared to be wearing dragon-hide trousers.

Neville laughed, "Fatherhood hasn't calmed down your look Bill, has it?"

The man grinned, "Not at all, Neville. You must be the leader of this team, Auror Malfoy?"

Draco nodded and shook his hand, "And you are Bill Weasley."

"Yes, I am," Bill replied, "Head curse breaker at Gringotts. I'll need the letters and the idiot of an Auror who touched them."

Draco pointed over at Theo, "Meet Auror Nott."

Bill raised an eyebrow at Theo, "Hermione's boyfriend?"

Theo nodded numbly, "Please don't tell Hermione about this, she'll freak out and-"

Bill just laughed, "I won't. Come on, I need to take you to a containment room."

Theo obliged. He was too scared of dying (and too scared of Bill) to do otherwise. Once he had left the basement Draco looked around at the rest of his team, "Okay, we're one man down now but I don't want us to interrogate these sympathisers alone because we have no idea how dangerous they could be. Daphne, you're with me. Eddie, you're with Neville. We each take two names from that list, hunt them down and find out what they know. Got it?"

"Got it."

* * *

"This case is pretty intense," Daphne sighed as she and Draco walked along a sunlit street towards the home of their first suspect.

Draco nodded, "I don't like being on a time limit," he admitted, "Especially when there are lives at stake."

"Working well under pressure is a Gryffindor concept," Daphne agreed, "But that doesn't mean that we can't do it. We aren't the heroic sort but we are intelligent. We will find a way to find this guy before someone else is hurt."

Draco said no more as they stepped into the block of flats where their suspect lived. The two friends walked in silence to the 5th floor and rapped on flat number 5e. They waited with trepidation until the door was yanked open by a rather unassuming individual. He was a young man, no older than 25. He had glasses and long hair, put bluntly he looked like a nerd.

"Craig Matthews?" Draco asked calmly.

The boy nodded, his eyes flitting from Draco to Daphne, "Who are you?"

"I'm Auror Malfoy and this is Auror Greengrass, we need to ask you some questions."

Craig swallowed and stepped back slightly.

"Don't think about running sweetheart," Daphne said kindly, "I would catch you, even in these heels."

Craig swallowed once more and said, "I didn't do anything illegal, I swear!"

"That remains to be seen," Draco said, stepping into his flat.

Daphne stepped in too and shut the door behind her. Craig looked positively terrified, "This is about the letters I've been writing, isn't it? The ones about…"

"Grindelwald?" Daphne asked, "Yes Craig, it is."

"I just agree with some of his policies," Craig said quickly, "I'm not part of the cult or anything, I wouldn't go that far, I swear!"

"The cult?" Draco asked.

Craig frowned, "I thought that was why you here, because you thought I was in the cult."

"We are here because three people have been murdered," Draco said coolly, "And Grindelwald's mark was found at each crime scene. All of the victims were muggle-borns."

Craig's eyes widened, "I had nothing to do with that. I would never kill someone, I told you, I just believe in some of his policies."

"His policies about muggle-borns?" Daphne asked carefully.

Craig shook his head, "No, about the greater good. I think he's right that sometimes you have to do a bad thing for the greater good. But not killing, _never_ killing."

"Do the cult kill?" Draco asked.

"I don't know," Craig replied, "You have to be pretty fanatical to be accepted into the cult. They obsess over Grindelwald."

"How so?" Daphne asked.

"They have crazy theories about bringing him back from the dead and they have…rituals," Craig said, swallowing hard.

"Rituals that involve human sacrifice?" Draco asked sharply.

"I don't know…maybe," Craig replied.

"How do you know so much about this cult if you aren't a part of it?" Daphne asked, "Is your little penpal a member?"

"He wants to be, but he isn't," Craig said, "I told you, they are really picky about who they accept."

"Do you know where they meet?" Draco asked.

Craig shook his head, "I don't know anything more than what I just told you, I promise."

Draco narrowed his eyes at the boy, "Daphne needs to take your alibi for the time of the murders. Do you mind if I have a look around?"

Craig shook his head, "No, whatever you want. You can do whatever you want."

* * *

"I feel so cold…like all of the life is being drained out of me."

Bill nodded sombrely, "Does your head feel foggy?"

Theo nodded, "Is that bad?"

"Very bad," Bill replied, "Any numbness in your extremities?"

"My fingers are tingling," Theo whispered.

Bill hummed thoughtfully.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Theo asked the redhead with wide eyes.

Bill grinned at the younger man, "No Theo, you are perfectly fine. Your mind is just playing tricks on you."

"I'm not cursed?" Theo asked in surprise.

Bill shook his head, "No, and you couldn't find any trace of a curse on the letter because there wasn't one."

"But…" Theo frowned, "How else could the victims just die of shock?"

"I'm fairly certain that the victims did die because they were cursed," Bill said honestly, "But the letter wasn't what carried the curse. It was a ruse, to keep the Aurors busy."

"And it worked," Theo said, "The murderer probably has the cursed object stashed away somewhere…he's using the same item to kill each victim not cursing several different letters."

Bill nodded, "I need to talk to the coroner. Without examining the bodies, I can't tell you much more about the nature of the curse."

"Right," Theo said, clearing his throat and standing up, "I'll take you to the coroner…and Bill…"

"Don't tell Hermione that you are a complete drama queen?" Bill quipped with a smirk.

Theo simply nodded.

Bill shot the former Slytherin a wicked grin, "No chance Theo. Everyone needs a little bit of blackmail to store for the opportune moment."

Theo rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Hermione's going to think I'm a complete joke."

Bill barked out a laugh and patted Theo on the back, "To the coroner's office Theo. We're on a time limit here."

Theo looked down at his watch and swallowed, "30 hours to go."

* * *

"Do you really think one of these people is going to be our murderer?" Eddie asked Neville as they pressed a bell for access to a sizeable house in London's East end.

Neville sighed, "I don't know. They could all be bigoted idiots or one of them could have a real mean streak."

"Do you think Theo's going to be okay?" Eddie asked, ringing the bell for a second time.

"He'll be fine," Neville assured Eddie, "If he is cursed we have a long time to work out who cursed him and force them to undo it."

Eddie nodded but said no more as the door to the house was opened. Standing before them was a middle-aged man with greying black hair. He was dressed smartly in dress robes and he was looking at them suspiciously.

"Whatever you are selling, I am not interested-"

Neville whipped out his badge, "We aren't selling anything. I'm Auror Longbottom and this is my colleague Auror Carmichael. You must be Roger Campbell?"

Roger nodded and looked at them cautiously, "My apologies. How can I help you?"

"Can we come in?" Neville asked politely, "We have a few questions that we need to ask you."

Roger nodded and stepped back, allowing them access to the house. He led them into the living room and summoned his house elf to make up a pot of tea.

"Are you aware that there have been murders in the area?" Neville asked Roger calmly.

Roger nodded, "Those poor muggle-borns, I heard."

"Those poor muggle-borns were murdered by a Grindelwald sympathiser," Eddie said matter of factly, "Something which might come of interest to you. After all, you teach history at Merlin University here in London, don't you?"

Roger narrowed his eyes at Eddie, "I don't like what you are insinuating."

"Your specialist subject is the wars of Grindelwald," Eddie said calmly, "One might think you sympathise with him."

"I may not hate Grindelwald like many people in Europe do, but I am not a murderer," Roger said firmly, "I take an objective view when I teach about his policies and his aims. I do not agree with all of his policies and I do not disagree with all of his policies but I had nothing to do with what happened to those muggle-borns."

"So you won't mind if we take your alibi for the nights of the murders then, will you?" Neville asked the man.

"No," Roger said, straightening himself up, "I won't. Ask away."

Neville watched while Eddie took a note of Roger's alibi for each murder. Once he was finished there was no further reason for them to stay so they thanked him for his cooperation and apparated towards their next location.

"Did you believe him?" Neville asked Eddie conversationally.

Eddie shook his head, "There was definitely something fishy about him. I don't know if he killed those people, but he knew something."

"He definitely knew more than he was letting on," Neville said, tapping his communication bracelet to update Draco.

"Malfoy."

"Hey Draco," Neville said, "There was definitely something fishy about Roger Campbell. He was holding back something and he was very defensive. Have you had any luck yet?"

"Craig Matthews is a scrawny little kid," Draco replied, "Definitely not a killer. He did tell us about a cult though."

"A cult?"

"Apparently there is an underground cult dedicated to Grindelwald. Only his diehard fans get in, Matthews didn't know the names of any members or anything about where they meet though."

"Right," Neville said, "Well I suggest we put a tail on Campbell. If he is involved with this cult he will go to warn them that the Aurors are asking questions. Can you ask Harry to spare a couple of basic Aurors to tail him with?"

"I will. Malfoy out."

The communication ended and Neville glanced to Eddie, "Ever heard of a cult dedicated to Grindelwald?"

"No, but I'm not surprised," Eddie admitted, "The Death Eaters were basically a cult dedicated to Voldemort after all."

Neville nodded thoughtfully as they rang on the bell of the next suspect's house. This house was far smaller than the last one and nowhere near as grand. The door was answered much more quickly this time. The person who stood before them was a man who looked to be in his late 20's. He pushed his dark blonde hair out of his eyes and asked, "How can I help you, gentlemen?"

"I'm Auror Longbottom," Neville said, flashing his badge, "And this is Auror Carmichael. Are you John Simpson?"

John nodded, "Uh, yeah."

"Do you mind if we come in and ask you a few questions?"

John shook his head although he looked a little nervous, "Sure. Come in."

He led Neville and Eddie into his small living room and they all took seats on the sofa's and armchairs scattered around the room.

"Mr. Simpson, we are aware of an incident you were involved in earlier this year," Eddie began, "A bar fight?"

John nodded and frowned, "I thought the charges were dropped. I apologised to the guy-"

"The charges were dropped," Eddie cut in, "But you attacked a muggle-born less than a year ago and now three murders have occurred right on your doorstep. Three _muggle-born_ murders."

John frowned, "I didn't know that they were all muggle-born. I heard about the murders in the news, but I didn't realise the connection...Wait, do you think I was involved in this?"

"It doesn't look good for you," Neville said, "You clearly have something against muggle-borns."

"No," John said, "It wasn't like that. I just got into a fight with the guy and that was the first thing that popped into my head. I know it's not okay, but I knew he was a muggle-born and I knew it would get to him."

"So you have nothing against muggle-borns?" Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing at all," John said, "I swear."

"We'll need alibis from you for the time of all three murders," Eddie said, "And we'll have to ask you not to leave town until this is over. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

* * *

 _Knock. Knock._

"Come in!"

Theo and Bill stepped into the coroner's office and shut the door behind them. Theo smiled at the coroner, "Hey Mike."

Michael smiled at him, "Afternoon Theo."

"This is Bill," Theo said, "He's a curse breaker whose working with us."

"And I have written permission from the Head Auror to examine these bodies," Bill said, handing Michael a piece of parchment.

Michael frowned, "Why do you need to examine the bodies? Do curse breakers do that?"

"When the victims were killed with a curse, yes," Bill replied, "I need to know the nature of the curse so that I can trace the object attached to it."

"Right," Michael said, "Well the three victims are just in here," he led them into the main morgue and withdrew three sheets, "Times of deaths are about 2 days apart. If you want the freshest results this man was the last to die."

Bill nodded and pulled out his wand, "Thank you. Did your report bring up anything suspicious?"

Michael nodded, "Well the reason I thought that it pointed towards a cursed death was because there was no logical cause of death. There were no marks of any sort on the body and they weren't killed with the killing curse. Normally a curse would leave burn marks from where the skin comes into contact with the cursed item."

"Not always," Bill said, frowning down at the bodies, "But if these people were cursed I _will_ get to the bottom of it."

* * *

"What do you think about this whole cult thing?"

"I think if it's true, it's crazy," Draco muttered, "A cult dedicated to Grindelwald? Sounds a little too much like the Death Eaters to me."

"I was thinking something similar," Daphne admitted, "Thinking they can bring Grindelwald back to life like Matthews said…that's scary."

Draco nodded, "Potter is going to have to be filled in on this one."

"Filled in?" Daphne said, "He's going to have to take it over if this turns out to be true."

"If," Draco emphasised, "That kid could have been talking shit to get out of trouble."

"True," Daphne said as they came to a stop outside the home of their last suspect. It was another flat, but this time it was on the 14th floor. Once they had climbed the building and stopped outside the door they were far more out of breath than they should have been.

Daphne took the lead on this one and rapped on the door. A radically dressed teenager with bright red hair answered the door, "Oh shit, are you guys Aurors?"

"Auror Malfoy," Draco said, flashing his badge, "This is Auror Greengrass."

"Are you Liam Johnstone?" Daphne asked.

The boy shook his head, "Nah lady, I'm Derek. Liam's in his room."

"We're going to need to talk to him," Daphne said, stepping into the shared flat.

Derek nodded, his mouth hanging open, "Uh…okay."

Daphne smirked, "Which room is his?"

"That one," Derek said, pointing at the door at the end of the hall.

Daphne smiled at him and walked towards the door with an amused Draco at her heels. She rapped on it and it opened by a fraction.

"Liam Johnstone? I'm Auror Greengrass-"

The door was snapped shut in their faces. Daphne rolled her eyes and blasted it down, stepping into the room to find the window wide open.

"As if," Draco muttered, "Who jumps out of a 14th floor window? Daphne, check the wardrobe," he said as he peered under the bed.

Daphne opened the wardrobe and smirked when she saw a pale faced teenager standing there, "Good afternoon Liam. Fancy a little trip to a holding cell in the ministry?"

Liam shook his head, "No, I'm sorry for tricking you. I'll tell you everything I swear."

"Reparo," Draco said, fixing the bashed down door to stop Liam's nosey flatmates from listening in. Once he was finished he turned to the boy who was now sitting on the edge of his bed, "Get talking."

"You're here about the murders," Liam said.

"Yes," Daphne said, "We are. What do you know about them?"

"That they are all muggle-borns," Liam replied, "You think a Death Eater did it."

"No, we think a Grindelwald sympathiser did it," Daphne replied.

Liam frowned, "Who is Grindelwald?"

"Did you listen in History of Magic?" Draco asked in disbelief.

Liam's frown deepened, "Yeah but I never heard that name. It was all about Voldemort."

"What age _are_ you, Liam?" Daphne asked.

"18," Liam replied.

"And you have no idea who Grindelwald is?" Draco asked again.

Liam shook his head.

"So why did you run when you heard that I was an Auror?" Daphne asked.

"Because my Dad was a Death Eater," Liam muttered, "And when I heard that muggle-borns were getting killed I figured you would be looking at people with connections."

"Do you believe in the same ideals that your Father does?" Daphne asked matter of factly.

Liam shook his head, "No, I've got loads of muggle-born friends at uni. I wouldn't hurt anyone, I swear, I wouldn't."

"What are you studying at uni, Liam?" Draco asked curiously.

"Astronomy," Liam replied.

"At Merlin University?" Daphne asked.

Liam nodded warily, "Why does that matter?"

"We're just curious," Daphne said with a false smile, "Don't leave the country until this blows over. Okay?"

Liam just nodded numbly.

* * *

"Finally!" Harry exclaimed when he stepped into the basement just in time to see Draco and Daphne arriving from the apparition point up the back.

"Finally?" Draco remarked.

"I've been down here a few times to check up on things but you have all been out," Harry explained, "Working leads?"

"Yes," Draco replied, "Not all of which came to much and we only have…26 hours until the fourth victim is killed."

"Well we found out something interesting," Theo said from his desk where Bill was working away.

"What?" Draco asked, eager for information.

"The letters weren't cursed," Theo replied, "They were a ruse."

"So if the victims weren't cursed, how did they die?" Eddie asked in confusion.

"They were cursed," Bill replied, "Just not by the letters. The curse that was used was not a slow acting one like the one the letter implies. It was a very fast acting curse. The moment the victims were touched their hearts stopped."

"Hence the no marks and the fact they appeared to die of fright," Draco mumbled.

Bill nodded, "Which means your murderer has a very ancient cursed object. This isn't the kind of curse which is easily created and attached to an object. It's complex, ancient magic that I've only heard about once."

Neville nodded slowly and looked up, "And it was used by Grindelwald. He wasn't just supposed to have some fabled elder wand that made him the most powerful wizard ever. He was supposed to have lots of dark, creepy possessions like-"

"The watch that stopped time!" Theo exclaimed, "The moment anyone looked at it their heart stopped and they died."

Draco nodded, his brain whirring, "That makes an incredible amount of sense. The watch was imbued with basilisk venom and the curse played on that…"

"You think someone is running around with this thing?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"I don't think, I _know_ ," Draco said, his eyes were burning as he looked around the room, "But the question is who…This cult must have something to do with it."

"What cult?" Theo and Harry asked in unison.

"One of the suspects talked about a cult of people obsessed with Grindelwald," Draco explained, "He said he only knew of its existence, not about its members or any meeting places but I asked for a trail to be set on someone I expect to be a member of it.

"I put two basic Aurors on the case," Harry said with a nod, "But you didn't mention a cult."

"I didn't want to share too much over the communication channel," Draco admitted, "But this cult must be behind this. The killing of muggle-borns with an ancient artefact that once belonged to Grindelwald…it must be them."

"Do you think any of the suspects we spoke to today are involved?" Eddie asked.

"I don't know how they can be," Draco said, "After all, they aren't connected, are they? Craig Matthews is just a low level Ministry worker and Liam Johnstone is a student at Merlin University."

Neville frowned, "Roger Campbell, one of the guys we interviewed, teaches History at Merlin."

"But Liam is studying Astronomy," Daphne said, "It's a huge University and Liam would study during the night more than the day. How would they ever see each other?"

"Wait," Neville frowned, "John Simpson, the other guy we interviewed…he works in the Department of Mysteries now but he studied History at Merlin University about 10 years ago."

"So Merlin is our link," Harry said slowly, "And it's the oldest University in wizarding Britain."

"Why does that matter?" Draco asked.

"Because if a cult were to meet it would be somewhere secret," Neville replied, "Like the secret tunnels underneath Merlin."

"Wait," Daphne cut in, "Craig Matthews has no connection to Merlin."

Draco frowned, "Yes, he does."

"How?" Daphne asked sceptically, "You saw that kid. He wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the box."

"No, but he had a penpal," Draco said, "I saw the letters when I searched his flat. They were signed JS."

"John Simpson!" Neville and Eddie realised in unison.

Harry looked around the room in disbelief, "Are you telling me a cult dedicated to Grindelwald are kidnapping people, taking them to the tunnels underneath Merlin University and killing them _because of their blood status_?"

Draco nodded grimly, "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

"Then I'm going to have to come on the arrest with you," Harry said, "There is no way I'm missing this one."

Draco grinned at him, "It happens tonight. As soon as darkness falls, we go underneath the University and arrest as many as these fascist bastards as we can."

Harry smiled proudly at Draco and said, "I'm in. I'll see who else I can gather from the other side of the wall."

* * *

"Mind if I come down?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "I thought you were stopping?"

"I'm _trying_ to stop," Harry's amused voice said from the balcony above him.

Draco took a long drag from his cigarette and said, "Sure."

Seconds later Harry dropped down and stole one of Draco's cigarettes, "Yes Potter, of course you can have one," he said sarcastically.

Harry scoffed and lit the cigarette, "Like you didn't nick enough of mine when you started working in this department," he remarked.

"Can you believe that was 6 months ago?" Draco asked conversationally.

"No," Harry admitted, "It's been a fast 6 months."

"Tell me about it," Draco said.

"Are you nervous about the bust tonight?" Harry asked curiously.

Draco shook his head, "I've learned to stop getting nervous. Why, are you?"

Harry laughed, "Nah. Oliver is, he worries too much."

"At least you have someone to worry about you," Draco said, only a little bit bitterly.

"Well from what I hear you've been eying up our coroner," Harry joked, "You and Michael Corner, huh?"

Draco scoffed, "I've had one conversation with the guy. Word spreads quickly around this hell hole though."

"Yes, it does," Harry agreed, "But you should probably give Michael a try. You two could be a pretty good match you know."

Draco suddenly felt very awkward, "Right," he said, stubbing out his cigarette, "Are you ready to gather everyone up and move out?"

Harry nodded, once more back in professional mode, "Ready when you are."

* * *

"This is creepy," Draco muttered.

"It's the secret tunnels underneath Merlin University," Harry muttered back, "Did you expect this to be a walk in the park?"

Draco shot him a glare, "No, but I did not expect to see skulls. What the fuck is that?"

"It's an ancient artefact," Theo replied in a whisper, "They probably say it's the skull of Merlin but whether it actually is or not…"

"Who cares? It's disgusting," Dana said, crinkling her nose up.

"Do you really think they do rituals down here?" Eddie asked as they crept along, "With human sacrifice?"

"I doubt it," Harry replied, "These people are crazy but if they did kill our victims I'm sure they will have a sensible motive."

"Or they could be crazy homicidal maniacs," Draco said.

Harry nodded grimly, "Or that."

"Which would be bad," Theo said.

"Yes Theo, it would be very bad," Neville remarked sarcastically.

"These tunnels are a maze," Ron whispered, "How are we ever going to find the chamber where they meet?"

"The tunnels were created during Merlin's days as a siege exit in case the place was ever attacked by dark forces," Theo said, "The most direct route will lead us to a secret exit somewhere out-with the university."

"What about the smaller tunnels?" Harry asked.

"They'll lead to dead ends," Theo replied, "And occasionally to secret chambers used for worship back in Merlin's time."

"So we have to split up," Neville realised.

Harry rolled his eyes, "I hate splitting up. It makes me feel like we're in a bloody horror movie."

"It's necessary," Draco said, "It could take forever to find them otherwise."

"Fine," Harry said quietly, "But whoever does find them uses the distress beacon on their bracelet to bring us all to their location, and they use it immediately. Understood?"

Everyone nodded so Harry continued, "Draco, take Daphne and Eddie, take that small tunnel to the left. Neville and Dana, go to the right. Ron and Harrison, take the obvious route straight ahead, they could be hiding in plain sight."

"Where are we going then?" Theo asked, he was the only one who had not been paired off so he had to assume he was going with Harry.

"We keep going down," Harry said, looking at the slope behind them, "We don't know how deep these things go."

"And that doesn't make me feel nervous at all," Theo muttered as they all split up, lighting up their wands with lumos as they descended into the darkness.

* * *

"This is a waste of time," Daphne whispered as their path got narrower and twistier.

"We don't know what could be at the end," Draco reasoned as they walked through the damp, silent, musty tunnels.

"Yes we do," Eddie said from the front of the pack.

They all came to an abrupt stop and Eddie said, "Lumos Maxima!"

The light from his wand lit up the entire passageway revealing…

"See," Daphne remarked, "It's a dead end."

Draco cursed under his breath, "Maybe one of the others has had more luck. No one has activated the distress beacon yet which means no one is hurt. Come on, we need to head back so that we can help whoever does find these crazy bastards."

* * *

"Am I the only one finding this incredibly creepy?" Dana whispered as she and Neville walked along a very low passageway.

"It's not so different from a lot of the secret passageways in Hogwarts," Neville reasoned, "Surely you must have explored them?"

Dana laughed, "No, not exactly. I played by the rules at Hogwarts, never went out after curfew or…"

"Snuck around in secret passageways?" Neville asked, amusement lacing his voice.

"Exactly," Dana said, "Why, did you?"

"There was one girl," Neville admitted.

"Must have been a special girl," Dana said.

"She was," Neville said honestly, "She was the first girl I ever loved and I spent a fair bit of time in passageways with her when I went back to school to finish my N.E.W.T's after the war."

"Why didn't it last?" Dana asked, "If you don't mind me asking."

"I don't," Neville said, "And I suppose it was just because we realised that we wanted different things in life. I wanted to become an Auror and she wanted to travel the world. We tried to stay together, but things changed when we left Hogwarts for good."

"Do you still love her?" Dana asked.

Neville shook his head, "No, she's one of my best friends and she always will be. But I got over her a long time ago."

"Your heart belongs to someone else now," Dana agreed, "A certain blonde haired kick-ass Auror, right?"

Neville smiled to himself, about to reply and tell Dana that she was right. But then he came to a stop, "Damn!"

"What?" Dana asked, instantly on guard.

"It's a dead end," Neville muttered, "Come on, we need to head back!"

* * *

"Do you really think one of these tunnels is going to lead to a secret chamber?" Harry asked after they had been walking for what felt like hours.

Theo nodded slowly, "One of them has to…"

"Do you hear that?" Harry whispered.

They stopped in their tracks as the sound of chanting floated up from somewhere below them. They had been steadily declining since the moment they split off from the others.

"It's Latin," Theo whispered.

"What are they saying?"

"Some kind of chant…it's not magic, not any that I've ever encountered anyway," Theo said, frowning deeply, "I can make out the words Grindelwald, rise, dead and lord."

"That's not good," Harry muttered, "How close are we?"

Theo closed his eyes and silently performed a location spell. When he opened them he looked more than a little concerned, "Not far. If we continue downwards we'll reach them within less than 5 minutes. Do you want me to hit the beacon?"

Harry shook his head, "No. As soon as you press that it force-apparates everyone here to our position. We would never fit in this tunnel, but the moment we step out into that chamber you press it."

"There could be hundreds of them in there!" Theo hissed.

"That's the chance we have to take," Harry said seriously. Without another word he continued down the passage and Theo followed him grudgingly, his hand poised over the button on his bracelet that activated the emergency beacon.

As predicted, it did not take long to reach the chamber. They peered into it before rushing in to get a rough idea of numbers and it was far better than they were expecting. Rather than 100 or more people, this was a small gathering of around 25. In theory, that was nothing they couldn't handle. Especially if the majority of these people were students or teachers rather than trained fighters.

The members of this strange cult were gathered in a circle. There was an altar in the middle which seemed to contain blood and each member wore a deep navy cloak with a hood that covered their face. They all had their eyes shut as they chanted their strange prayer, or whatever it was.

Harry decided to use that as an opportunity to block the other two exits with powerful magical barriers. Theo understood his logic completely, when they pounced they now guarded the only way out of this chamber. When the barriers had been put up Harry looked to Theo and nodded.

Theo pressed the emergency beacon on his bracelet without delay and Harry stepped into the chamber, "ATTENTION! THIS IS AN AUROR RAID! NOBODY IS PERMITTED TO LEAVE THIS CHAMBER!"

Instantly wands were drawn and spells thrown, but then the force-apparition kicked in and all other 7 members of the two teams appeared in the chamber. What followed was chaotic, spells were ricocheting everywhere and within 5 minutes it was all over.

Harry was breathing heavily as he looked at the carnage. All 25 cult members were down, but so were two of their own people.

"Ron, you okay?" Harry asked, shaking Ron hard.

"He's fine," Neville said breathily, "Just stunned. Enervate!"

Ron gasped loudly and sat up, clutching his chest. He surveyed the scene with wide eyes and uttered two words, "Bloody hell!"

"Yeah, he's alright," Harry chuckled, patting Ron on the shoulder, "Is Eddie okay?"

"Fine," Theo said, slinging his friend over his shoulder, "Just hit with three stunners at once. He's going to feel rough once he's slept it off."

"Can't you just wake him up now?" Daphne asked.

Dana shook her head, "One stunner is one thing, but three is another. He's in a coma like state, using enervate could kill him or render him brain dead."

"He's just going to have to have a very long nap and wake up feeling like hell," Theo smirked, "Do you mind if I take him back to the flat, boss?"

Draco shook his head, "By all means, go."

Without waiting for any further orders Theo spun on his heel and disappeared, taking Eddie with him.

"You alright to carry on, Ron?" Harry asked.

Ron nodded and accepted Neville's hand in pulling him to his feet, "Yeah, I'm fine. Are we arresting all of these crazy bastards?"

"Yes we are," Harry replied calmly, "Secure them all and we'll start apparating them to the big holding cell in the basement. Until we can wake them up and find out who killed our victims, they're all suspects."

There were several nods and everyone got to work.

* * *

"Roger Campbell," Draco said calmly, "The time is 23.45pm. My name is Auror Draco Malfoy and you are being questioned under the legal influence of veritaserum, as authorised by Judge Padma Patil. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good," Draco said calmly, "Were you involved in the deaths of Kate Harkness, David Jones and Lesley Logan?"

"Yes."

Draco leant forward, "Did you personally kill any of these people?"

"Yes."

"Who?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"David Jones," Roger replied.

"Why?" Draco asked calmly.

"For the greater good," Roger replied.

"The greater good of what?"

"Wizarding kind."

"How do you justify that, exactly?"

"It was for the greater good."

"Yes, you've said that," Draco said, beginning to get irritated, "But why did you kill Mr. Jones?"

"For the greater good."

* * *

"John Simpson. The time is 23.45pm. My name is Auror Harry Potter and you are being questioned under the legal influence of veritaserum, as authorised by Judge Padma Patil. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good," Harry said, "Were you involved in the deaths of Kate Harkness, David Jones and Lesley Logan?"

"Yes."

"Did you help conspire to kill all three of these people?" Harry asked.

"Yes."

"Did you personally kill any of them?" Harry asked, eying the man carefully.

"Yes," He replied.

"Who?" Harry asked, trying to keep the venom from his voice and failing.

"Kate Harkness."

"Why?"

"For the greater good," John said.

Harry rolled his eyes, "The greater good? That's nonsense that Grindelwald spewed while he was alive. How could killing innocent muggle-borns help anyone?"

"We cleanse the wizarding world of its dirtiness."

"For the greater good?" Harry scoffed, "You're a homicidal maniac with absurd views that will get you sent to prison. You killed those muggle-borns because of their blood status, didn't you?"

"It was for the greater good."

Harry slammed his file shut hard and got to his feet, "There is no greater good, especially where people like you are concerned!"

* * *

"Craig Matthews. The time is 23.45pm. My name is Auror Ronald Weasley and you are being questioned under the legal influence of veritaserum, as authorised by Judge Padma Patil. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good," Ron said as he set a quick quotes pill over his parchment, "Were you involved in the murders of Kate Harkness, David Jones and Lesley Logan?"

"Yes."

"So you killed them all?" Ron asked.

"No," Craig replied.

"Then you conspired to kill them with others?" Ron said.

"Yes."

"What others?"

"The brethren of the greater good," Craig replied.

Ron snorted, "Let's make this simpler Craig. Did you or did you not kill any of those people?"

"I did."

"Who then?"

"Lesley Logan."

"Why?" Ron asked, anger dripping from his voice, "Because you're a maniac?"

"It was for the greater good," Craig said.

"Of course it was," Ron said sarcastically, "Come on mate, you seem like a sensible guy. Why kill someone just because they are a muggle-born? What do you get out of that? What does anyone get out of that?"

"It was for the greater good of the wizarding world."

"Do you really believe that?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Then that's the scariest thing I've heard all day," Ron muttered.

* * *

"Liam Johnstone. The time is 23.45pm. My name is Auror Neville Longbottom and you are being questioned under the legal influence of veritaserum, as authorised by Judge Padma Patil. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good," Neville said, "Now, were you involved in the murders of Kate Harkness, David Jones and Lesley Logan?"

"Yes."

Surprise flashed through Neville's eyes, "I don't believe you killed someone Liam, you're just a kid."

It wasn't a question so Liam did not say a word.

"Did you kill any of those people, Liam?" Neville prodded.

"No," Liam replied.

"Did you conspire to kill them with others?"

"Yes."

"Who were the others?"

"The brethren of the greater good."

Neville resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "Did you have any intentions to kill?"

"Yes."

"Who were you going to kill, Liam?"

"The next victim," Liam replied.

"And did you want to do that?"

"No."

Neville's eyes narrowed, "Then why were you planning on killing him?"

"To be accepted into the society," Liam replied.

"It's a society?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"It seems more like a cult to me," He pointed out, watching Liam carefully, "Do you believe in resurrecting Grindelwald?"

"I don't know," Liam replied.

"Then why did you want to join the society?" Neville asked.

"To be accepted by my friends," Liam replied, breaking eye contact with Neville.

Neville sighed, because he understood that concept very well. He nodded, "Okay Liam, interview terminated."

* * *

When all interviews had concluded the four interrogators met up back in the basement where the rest of the team (minus Eddie who was sleeping off his triple stunner and Dana, who was tending to him) were gathered.

"Roger Campbell confessed to killing David Jones," Draco said sincerely.

"John Simpson confessed to Kate Harkness's murder," Harry added.

"And Craig Matthews confessed to Lesley Logan's," Ron finished.

All three of them turned to Neville who looked torn, "Liam Johnstone was supposed to kill the fourth victim but he didn't want to. He wasn't in that cult because of any Grindelwald-esque beliefs, he just wanted to seem cool and be accepted by his friends."

"He's under 21 and although he conspired to murder, he didn't commit one," Harry said, giving Neville a comforting look, "He'll lose his place at Merlin, he'll have to do a hell of a lot of community service and this will go on his criminal record. But he won't spend any time in jail Neville."

"That's something then," Neville sighed.

"That's not going to be the case for the other three," Draco said darkly, "I put forward a life sentence in Azkaban for Campbell."

"I did the same for Matthews," Ron said.

"I wanted to recommend the veil treatment, but I don't like to send anyone to their death," Harry admitted, "I proposed life imprisonment for Simpson too."

"I don't think a judge will disagree," Neville said.

Harry shook his head, "No, not after what these maniacs did. Even under veritaserum Simpson rattled on about the greater good."

"So did Campbell," Draco admitted, "It was scary."

Ron nodded his agreement, "These wackjobs will have plenty of time to think about the greater good in prison."

"Did anyone find the cursed watch?" Draco asked.

Harry nodded, "Bill took it away to be tested. It's going to a safe place where nobody will ever find it again."

"Good," Neville said darkly.

Harry sighed, "The paperwork on this is going to be a bitch."

"But it can wait till morning," Draco said, "It's after midnight. Everyone who is lucky enough to have someone to go home to, should go home."

Theo smiled slightly and patted Draco on the back on his way out of the door. Daphne and Neville left too, together and probably heading for the same flat. Harrison didn't need to be told twice that he was off duty and Ron clearly had plans for the night, probably with his bed.

This rather awkwardly left Harry and Draco alone in the basement.

"What are we going to do with the other members of this society?" Draco asked, "Their craziness has gotten people killed. We need to put an end to this."

"We will," Harry said, looking exhausted, "They will all be fined and given community service. I'll be speaking with the dean of the University too to make sure that something like this never happens under their noses again."

Draco gave him a small nod, "Go home Potter, you're burned out."

Harry smiled sleepily at Draco, "You don't look too good yourself," he joked.

Draco managed a meagre smile, "Oliver will be worried about you, go home."

Harry nodded and gripped Draco's shoulder momentarily, "Great work out there tonight."

"Thanks," Draco said with genuine emotion.

Harry only smiled sleepily at him once more, "Night, Draco."

"Goodnight, Harry."

 **TBC :)  
**


	15. And Then There Were None

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 15 - And Then There Were None**

"I don't have any dead bodies for you to examine!" Michael's voice called from his office.

Draco smiled slightly as he stood in the morgue. The rest of his team had headed home for the night after the mass arrest in the tunnels of Cambridge, but something had been bugging Draco all day and he needed to do something about it.

"I'm not here to look at corpses," Draco said as he walked into the office where Michael was pouring over paperwork, "I'm here to talk to you."

Michael looked up in surprise, "Well, I didn't see that coming."

"Neither did I," Draco said, leaning in the doorway and watching Michael, "But I had a pretty terrible day today and everyone else on my team had someone to go home to after it."

Michael nodded sadly, "I certainly know that feeling. Being the only single one is never fun."

Draco scoffed, "I doubt you're ever single for long."

Michael raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"

Draco felt a little nervous for the first time as he said, "Well…look at you."

"Look at _you_ ," Michael chuckled, "You could have any guy you wanted, but you seem to be an eternal bachelor."

"Not by choice," Draco admitted, "Not many people are interested in an arsehole with a criminal record."

Michael laughed, "Well then I guess you've only dated judgemental idiots."

"I guess so," Draco agreed, "But you on the other hand…I didn't even know you dated guys."

"Well that's because you don't really know me," Michael quipped, "What do you know about my love life, that I dated Ginny Weasley in high school?"

Draco looked a little sheepish, "That's about it to be honest."

"I also dated Justin Finch-Fletchley," Michael said with an amused grin, "But because he wasn't the boy wonders crush, nobody really gave a shit."

Draco laughed out loud at that comment, "Fair play."

Michael smiled cheekily and got to his feet, "So, since you came all of the way down here at an absurd time of night just to see me, are you going to ask me out or not?"

"Was it that obvious?" Draco asked.

"It was ridiculously obvious," Michael said, shrugging on his coat, "But then again, I am very observant."

Draco chuckled and walked out of the office with the former Ravenclaw, "After the day I've had, I just want a drink. Do you want to join me?"

Michael smiled, "Love to."

* * *

"You're late."

"Yes Daphne, I'm not perfect," Draco drawled as he hung up his Auror robes and deposited coffee on the desks of his co-workers, "I am late occasionally."

"Normally you don't have a chance to be late because you sleep here," Theo smirked, "Did you actually go back to your flat last night?"

"Or did you go back to someone else's flat?" Daphne quipped.

Draco rolled his eyes, "It's really none of your business whose flat I did or didn't sleep at last night."

"So you _did_ sleep at someone's flat then," Eddie grinned.

Neville snorted, "Leave the poor guy alone. It's his life, he can do whatever he wants with whoever he wants. We have far more important things to focus on."

"Like?"

"Like this heap of paperwork relating to the Grindelwald cult case," Draco said, looking disdainfully at said pile of paperwork.

The others grumbled but obeyed their boss and got started on the paperwork. That was how their morning continued. They worked in silence until Neville had the sense to turn on the WWN so they could at least have some background noise while they performed their menial tasks. They weren't interrupted until midday when Harry stepped into the basement.

"I brought you lunch," He said, depositing brown paper bags on the sofa, "I hope you like subway."

"What's subway?" Daphne asked.

"It's a muggle restaurant that makes sandwiches," Harry said, "They're nice and they're still warm so tuck in."

They didn't have to be told twice. Draco shook his head in amusement as he grabbed a sandwich and headed out to the patio to have a cigarette with his lunch. He was fairly certain that Harry would follow him so he wasn't surprised when the dark haired man sat down next to him.

"When did you get a dining table out here?" Harry asked in amusement.

Draco shrugged, "I thought I'd make the most of the fake good weather. I heard that you found the Deputy Minister's daughter this morning."

Harry nodded, "Yeah, bit he paid a hefty ransom for her."

"Did you catch the guy?" Draco asked.

"Not yet," Harry replied, "But we will."

Draco nodded thoughtfully and turned away from Harry. He bit into the sandwich and made a face, "That tastes disgusting and processed."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I think they're quite nice."

"You would," Draco scoffed, "You have no taste for decent food."

Harry lit up a cigarette and Draco managed to resist the urge to roll his eyes, "You're not stopping are you? You're just pretending for Oliver's sake."

"I can't stop," Harry sighed, "It's terrible but it's how I relieve my stress. I really like Oliver, but his lack of tolerance for my habits is…"

"Annoying?"

"Annoying," Harry agreed.

Draco blew out a puff of smoke and yawned, "I get that."

"What does Michael think of your habits?" Harry asked.

"Was that supposed to be tactful?" Draco asked in amusement.

Harry rolled his eyes, "I'm not good with tact, okay?"

Draco shook his head, torn between exasperation and amusement, "How do you even know about that anyway? Are you having me followed?"

"No," Harry said honestly, "I just happened to come back down here to make sure you had left and I heard you and Michael talking on the patio."

"So you eavesdropped?"

No," Harry said again, "When I realised you had company I left."

"I see," Draco said.

"So are you two…" Harry trailed off and let the sentence hang there.

"We're seeing each other," Draco said calmly, "Is that a problem?"

"No," Harry replied, "Why would it be a problem?"

Draco shrugged, "I don't know…because we sort of work together, I suppose."

"It's fine," Harry said with a look in his eyes that was hard to read. He clapped Draco on the shoulder and smiled, "I'm happy for you."

Draco nodded stiffly, but before they could continue their awkward conversation a familiar voice called them into the basement.

"Gentlemen! Your presence is required."

"Duty calls," Harry said, halfway between amused and exhausted.

They put out their cigarettes and stepped back into the basement where Susan was resting against Draco's desk.

"What can we do for you, Madam Bones?"

"I have a case for you actually," Susan said, her eyes flitting between Draco and Harry, "It has just come in and the media repercussions of not solving this quickly are...well they are huge, so I'm going to need your two teams to work together."

"Not a problem," Draco said, "We work rather well together."

Harry nodded and forced a smile, "Yes, we do."

Susan's eyes darkened, "Good. A body was found in a lake near York today. It had been dismembered, but we got a positive ID this morning. It was Auror Simmons."

"Auror Simmons is dead?" Harry asked in shock "I just spoke to her yesterday!"

Susan nodded solemnly, "This concerns one of our own. It won't look good for the department if we don't solve this quickly which is why I need two of my best teams on it. Your team may be unconventional Malfoy but you get results and that's what we need."

Draco nodded, "I understand."

Harry nodded too, "Do the rest of my team know about this?"

"No, I thought it would be best if you informed them," Susan said honestly. She dropped the file onto Draco's desk and left the basement without another word.

Harry wasted no time in saying, "Well, I had better go and inform my team of the news. We'll reconvene here for a team briefing in around half an hour?"

Draco just nodded, and Harry left the basement.

* * *

Everyone stared when Harry stepped into the office that he shared with his team. They knew him, they knew when something was wrong.

"We've been hearing rumours around the department mate," Ron said quietly, "They're not true, are they?"

Harry hated this part of the job. He hated to tell people that someone they knew was gone, he hated the tears and the pain that it inflicted on those people. Talking to the family members of murder victims was his least favourite part of being an Auror.

"I don't know what the rumours are," Harry said honestly, "But we have just been assigned a case. Auror Simmons was found dead in the early hours of this morning."

Dana had looked on the brink of tears from the moment that Harry had stepped inside the room, and she came undone at these words. Harry glanced down sadly as Harrison put an arm around his friend.

"I know you were close," Harry said gently, "I know you were in Auror training together so I am willing to let you make a choice about whether you want to work on this case or not. The boss wants us to team up with Draco's team to solve this one quickly and efficiently which means we will have more than enough people on board if either of you want to sit it out."

Dana shook her head and shrugged Harrison's arm off of her, "I knew Anna, she was my friend. I want to help you find out who did this to her."

Harry nodded. Dana was a brilliant Auror, he had expected nothing less of her.

"Harrison?"

Harrison on the other hand, was another kettle of fish. He shook his head, a frown knitting its way onto his forehead, "I think I'll have to sit this out."

Ron rolled his eyes behind Harrison's back and Harry couldn't help but agree wholeheartedly, "Okay then, go and work on Auror Boot's team for the moment. Ron, Dana; let's get downstairs for a team briefing."

Ron and Dana accepted this without any questions. They left the office and separated from Harrison, entering the back corridor and heading towards the basement. They were silent for the entire walk as the weight of the fact they had lost one of their own hit them.

When they stepped into the basement Harry left Ron and Dana by the sofas at the front of the room. He walked over to Draco's desk and perched on the edge of it, "Alright then. With a team this big we're going to spend the majority of our time working in small groups. Neville and I will go to the crime scene and see what the basic crime Aurors missed."

"I'm noticing a recurring theme here," Daphne said, "The basic crime Aurors always miss everything."

"They call them _basic_ crime Aurors for a reason," Ron quipped.

Harry nodded, "Have you all reviewed the initial report?"

Eddie nodded, and Theo said, "Yes, Anna Simmons, 23 years old. She was an Auror who had not long graduated. She was born in Wales, grew up in England, went to Hogwarts, was a Ravenclaw."

Harry sighed, "And more to the point, she was a good friend of everyone here. Dana and Harrison went through Auror training with Anna. Harrison thought this case would be too difficult, so he's working with a different team until we've solved it. Now, I need to prepare you all for this case because it is not a pleasant one."

Draco glanced down at the file and swallowed, "Nobody deserves to go like that."

"I know," Harry said, a dark look passing across his face, "Her body was found in a lake in rural Yorkshire close to her home in York city. It had been cut up into several pieces, and it took hours to recover all of the..." he trailed off, but the others got the gist of it.

"Is the...body...with the coroner?" Daphne asked tentatively.

"Yes," Harry replied, "Which is why I need you and Draco to head over to St. Mungo's. We don't have time to wait for the report. We need to know more and we need to know it quickly. Theo, Eddie; I want you to dig into her life and uncover anything that you can. Ron, Dana; I'm afraid I have the unpleasant job for you, I need you to talk to Anna's parents, we need to know as much as possible about her movements prior to her death. Are we all clear?"

There were nods and shouts of things like, "Yes, boss," and then they dispersed.

* * *

"You've been very quiet this morning," Neville said conversationally as they stood at the banks of a lake.

"It's the case," Harry lied.

"It's not just the case," Neville pointed out.

Harry sighed, "What do you think of Malfoy dating Michael Corner?"

"Is that who he's dating?" Neville asked nosily, "He can date whoever he wants. Why does it bother you?"

"It doesn't and it's none of your business. We're supposed to be working," Harry said.

"There's no work to do," Neville remarked, "We've scanned the entire crime scene and nothing has come up. Short of dredging the lake-"

"Good idea," Harry cut in. He waved his wand and the lake began to move unnaturally, "I've just started a scan to bring anything unnatural in the lake to the surface."

"Which will take time," Neville said slyly, "So we can talk about what you have against Draco dating Michael."

"I'm just not sure it's the best partnership," Harry admitted.

"Like you and Oliver, you mean?" Neville asked, raising his eyebrow at his friend.

"See! That sounds just like Draco. He doesn't like Oliver, he thinks he's bad for me," Harry said, shaking his head irritably.

"He's got a point," Neville said, "He is trying to change you."

"Well maybe I need to change," Harry argued.

"You probably do need to cut back on the cigarettes," Neville agreed, "But changing the way you look and dress for him? I'm with Draco on that one, that's bullshit."

Harry sighed, "It seems like more than that anyway. He barely knows Oliver and he hates him."

"Because he's jealous," Neville said, watching Harry in amusement, "And if you actually can't see that, you're blind."

Harry scoffed, "Draco Malfoy does not get jealous."

"He's jealous and _you're_ jealous," Neville said with a smirk, "So you two need to get over yourselves and date each other."

Harry snorted, "Not going to happen. Anyway, he doesn't date Gryffindors, remember? Unless you hadn't noticed I'm the most typical Gryffindor that there is."

Before Neville could say anything the sweeping charm finished. Harry seized the chance to stop talking about Draco. He frowned, "What's that, over by the bank?"

Neville looked more closely, "I don't know, but it's shiny. Everything else looks like junk."

Harry reeled in the sparkly object until it had landed in his hand.

"It's a pendant," Neville said.

Harry nodded, "In the shape of an owl...we better get it back to the basement so that Theo and Eddie can have a look. If we're lucky it might have some fingerprints on it."

"Do you think it belonged to Anna?" Neville asked.

"I don't know," Harry said honestly, "But I think it's important. Don't ask me why, it's just a hunch."

Neville smiled slightly, "I've learned to trust your hunch's over the years, Harry."

* * *

"This is a pretty big deal," Draco said in an undertone as he and Daphne walked along the basement corridor in St. Mungo's.

"Susan clearly wants it solved, quickly," Daphne agreed.

"But the others...they knew her," Draco said, "She was one of them."

"We're one of them too," Daphne said gently.

Draco shook his head, "No, we're not. They pretend that we are, but we will never be Aurors. This girl went through Auror training and worked hard to get where she was, we ended up here by chance. The least we can do is try our best to find out what happened to her."

Daphne smiled at him, "That's very noble of you," she said, knocking on the door to the coroner's room.

"Come in!" Michael called.

They stepped into the room and came face to face with Michael Corner which was more awkward for Draco than it was for Daphne.

"Morning Draco, and the esteemed Auror Greengrass," Michael said.

"Esteemed?" Daphne asked, raising an eyebrow at the coroner.

"Your best friend speaks very highly of you," Michael said, shooting Draco a smile.

Daphne grinned, "So it was _your_ flat that Draco slept at last night. Thank you for solving that mystery Michael."

Draco rolled his eyes and Michael grimaced, "I just landed you in the shit, didn't I?"

"Well I was trying not to tell her," Draco said, "But there goes that plan."

"Sorry," Michael said sheepishly, "But I can guess why you're here. It's about Auror Simmons, isn't it?"

Draco nodded solemnly, "It is."

"For obvious reasons I'm not going to show you her body," Michael said darkly, "But I will tell you what I've found out so far. The cause of death has been hard to determine because of the state that her body was in when we found her. I can tell you that it wasn't magical and that there were no toxins in her body. My initial guess is pretty morbid..."

"Go on," Daphne said.

Michael grimaced, "I think that she might have been cut up before she was killed. I think that might be the cause of death."

"That is sick," Draco said with disgust.

Michael nodded, "Other than that, there's not much that I can tell you. Her body was in the water overnight which washed away any trace of DNA that I might have found."

"Do you have a time of death?" Draco asked.

"It's hard to tell because of the fact she's been in the water," Michael admitted, "But if I were to hazard a guess I would say that she died between 9pm and 12pm last night."

"That's better than not knowing anything," Draco said with a smile, "Thanks for all of your help Michael."

Michael smiled back, "Any time. Floo me when you close this case?"

Draco nodded, "I will," he promised as he grabbed the door handle and left the room.

Daphne was smirking as they walked along the basement corridor in St. Mungo's, "Well, that was interesting."

"Was it?" Draco asked with mock innocence.

Daphne laughed, "You really like this guy, don't you?"

"I think he's promising," Draco compromised.

"And hot," Daphne added.

"Well, that helps," Draco admitted with a sly smirk.

Daphne grinned, "Good for you."

* * *

"Are you alright Dana?" Ron asked while they were walking up the path towards the house that Anna Simmons had grown up in.

Dana nodded. She looked pale and nervous, but that was to be expected given the nature of the case, "This just hits home a little too much."

Ron looked a little awkward at the thought of consoling an upset woman. He reached across and squeezed her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Dana smiled gratefully at him, and Ron reached up to rap his knuckles against the door.

They heard movement inside the house and then a tall, greying man answered the door, "Are you with the Ministry?"

Ron gave a small nod as he flashed his badge, "I'm Auror Weasley and this is my colleague Junior Auror Burton. Could we come in?"

The man nodded half-heartedly. He held the door open and allowed them entry into his home.

"I'm William, Anna's Father," William said quietly, "My wife Lauren is in the sitting room. Come on through."

Ron and Dana silently followed William into the sitting room where they were asked to sit down. Once they had done so they were faced with the difficult task. Lauren Simmons looked distraught as she sat in an armchair, staring straight ahead as if she was determined to forget everything.

"I am very sorry for your loss Mr and Mrs Simmons," Dana said, trying her best to keep her voice steady, "But we have to ask you some questions so that we can get to the bottom of what happened to Anna."

William just nodded.

Ron cleared his throat and took over, "Did Anna seem different at all in the last few weeks?"

William sighed, "She seemed tired and stressed. She was working on a large case about a smuggling ring and we had barely seen her. We just attributed the stress to that, we didn't think anything more of it."

"Did she seem paranoid at all?" Dana asked.

"No," William began to say.

Lauren suddenly shook her head and turned to look at Ron and Dana, "Yes," she said quietly, "That boy came to the house and she was very adamant that he could not come in."

"What boy?" Dana asked.

"A teenage boy who she gave money to on Diagon Alley," William replied, "He was begging and she felt sorry for him. He followed her home, but she didn't want him in the house."

"Could you come into the department with me and transfer your memory of this boy into an image please Mrs Simmons?" Ron asked gently, "It might help us find out if he did this to Anna."

Lauren nodded, "Of course, anything I can do to help."

Ron gave her a sympathetic smile, "Did Anna have a boyfriend?"

"No," Lauren replied, "She broke up with Brett about 3 months ago. There hasn't been anyone since."

"Brett?" Dana asked.

"Brett Finlayson," William said, "He's a Quidditch player, he plays for the Wimbourne Wasps."

"Thank you for that information Mr and Mrs-" Ron began to say but he was cut off by his communication bracelet beeping loudly, "I'm sorry I have to take this," he said, stepping to the side.

This left Dana alone with Anna's parents. Lauren looked at her for a moment, "I recognise you...did you know Anna?"

Dana swallowed, "We were friends, we were in Auror training together."

Lauren frowned and then realisation dawned on her face, "Oh yes. Burton...it's Dana, isn't it?"

"Yes," Dana replied, "I truly am sorry about what happened to Anna, Mrs Simmons."

Lauren just nodded as Ron stepped back into the living room, "I'm sorry about the interruption but I do have one more question. Did Anna own any jewellery with a silver owl pendant?"

William frowned and looked to his wife, "Not as far as I'm aware."

Lauren shook her head, "No, she didn't wear jewellery."

Ron gave a small nod and then a comforting smile, "Well thank you for your time Mr and Mrs Simmons."

Dana had gotten to her feet too and she looked even paler than she had before they entered the house. Ron glanced over at her with concern as they made their way outside. Once they were walking down the garden path towards the point where they could apparate Ron said, "Dana, are you sure that you're okay? If this case is too tough for you nobody would think any less of you if you asked to take a back seat."

Dana shook her head, "I'm fine," she lied, "Why did you ask the Simmons about a pendant?"

"Harry and Neville found it in the lake," Ron replied, "They don't know what it came from yet, but it doesn't look like it was Anna's. It might not even be related to the case, someone could have just dropped it into the lake when they were swimming."

"That's true," Dana said a little shakily, "Do you think you can relay this information back to Harry? I have an appointment that I forgot about."

Ron's frown deepened, "Sure, but Dana are you-"

"I'm fine," Dana said quickly.

They had reached the apparition point and before Ron had the chance to ask her anything else she had spun on her heel and disappeared.

* * *

When Ron stepped back into the basement, it was full. Theo and Eddie were in their corner analysing data. Draco and Harry were talking quietly by Draco's desk. Daphne was looking through a report of some sort and Neville was making the coffee.

"Finally," Harry said over the noise, "You're back. We were waiting for you before we debriefed. Where's Dana?"

Ron shook his head, "Something's not right with her. She said something about having an appointment and then she disappeared."

Eddie had overheard this, "That doesn't sound like Dana."

"I told you, there's something not right with her," Ron said.

"Do I have permission to go and find her, boss?" Eddie asked, looking at Draco.

Draco glanced at Harry, "Does he?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, go and check up on her. If this case is affecting her so badly tell her that she can stay home. I will need you back in later today though Eddie."

"Sure," Eddie said, grabbing his coat and leaving in a hurry.

"Okay!" Harry called, stopping the noise in the basement, "What did you find out from the coroner?"

"Apart from that Draco is loved up with him?" Daphne asked with a grin.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Now is not the time to joke around Daphne. We found out that Anna Simmons wasn't killed with magic and that she had no toxins in her body. The coroner said that the time of death was between 9pm and midnight last night and he also said that...she wasn't just cut up to dispose of the body...that was how she was killed."

Harry visibly swallowed and the others looked just as disgusted by this news. Harry composed himself the fastest, "Ron, did you find out anything new from Anna's parents?"

"There were a couple of things," Ron said honestly, "Anna wasn't seeing anyone, but she had been tired and stressed for the past couple of weeks. Apparently she gave money to a beggar boy in Diagon Alley last week and he followed her home. She was adamant about not letting him into the house."

"Something seems off about that," Neville said, "Do you have a picture?"

"I will do," Ron answered, "Mrs Simmons is going to the print room to convert the memory into a photograph later today."

Harry nodded slowly, "Did she have any jewellery with an owl pendant?"

"Not as far as her parents knew," Ron replied.

"An owl pendant?" Daphne asked.

Harry pulled the pendant out of his pocket, "We pulled this out of the water where her body was found. It looks as if it attaches to jewellery of some sort."

"It's a charm, from a charm bracelet," Daphne said, looking more closely at the charm.

"But Mrs Simmons said Anna didn't wear jewellery," Ron said.

"Hmm," Harry hummed thoughtfully as he looked at the charm, "Anyway Theo, did you and Eddie find out anything interesting?"

"Well she didn't seem to have any dark secrets," Theo replied, "She's lived a fairly ordinary life. She's a half-blood, her parents have money, she was brought up well. She left Hogwarts and started Auror training immediately after. The only thing that pinged up as weird was in the credit check that I did. She set up an elf-debit last week to send an amount of 100 galleons to Rhett Butler."

"False name," Harry said, "The elf-debit, can you trace it?"

Theo grimaced, "It would be difficult. The debit bounces around 6 different countries before eventually ending up at an untraceable, probably illegal, bank in the Bahama's."

"So we wouldn't be able to track the elves and ask them where the debit was going," Harry said irritably, "Well that's a dead end then. All the same Theo, do your best to find out anything more about the owner of that bank account because he's certainly not Rhett Butler."

"Will do."

Harry continued to give out orders, "Neville, Ron, Daphne; I need you to trawl through the case files from the last 5 years. Use the memory room, use the system, use whatever method you want. But find out if there have been any other murders where a piece of jewellery has been found at the crime scene."

"You think this is a serial killer?" Ron asked in surprise.

"I think something isn't right about this case," Harry said simply.

"What are we doing?" Draco asked, inadvertently catching Harry's eye.

"We need to find out who this beggar boy is," Harry said as he led the way out of the basement.

Draco rolled his eyes at Harry's bossiness but he followed him out of the basement anyway. They were silent until they were in the print room, waiting for Mrs Simmons to convert her memory into a photograph.

"So you're going out with Michael again tonight?" Harry asked conversationally.

"Potentially," Draco replied, "I agreed to a proper date after we close this case."

"He's a nice guy" Harry admitted, "I've been friends for him with years. He's been our coroner here for ages."

Draco nodded, "Do you have plans with Oliver tonight?"

Harry raised an eyebrow, "I thought you didn't like Oliver."

"I don't, but I'm trying to be friendly and polite," Draco said pointedly.

"We don't have plans for tonight," Harry said honestly, "I figured this case was going to take up the majority of my day."

"Hmm," Draco said, "Do you really think this is a serial killer?"

"I don't know," Harry said honestly, "I just have a hunch that the pendant means something. It might be stupid, but I'm sure that I've seen something like this before...and don't you think it's odd that Dana ran off?"

Draco looked surprised to be asked, "She's your team member, how should I know?"

"You're perceptive and your opinion matters to me," Harry replied, "I do think of you as a real Auror. I fought to get you that badge, I wouldn't have done that if I thought you didn't deserve to be here."

Draco continued to look down at the table, "What do you think is wrong with Burton then?"

"She knew Anna," Harry admitted, "But I think there's more to it than that. Dana doesn't just give up. She fights for what's right, she fights for what she believes in. Running away instead of fighting to find Anna's killer just isn't like her."

"People do strange things when they're grieving," Draco said, "She's upset. I'm sure Eddie will talk her around soon enough."

"Maybe," Harry said, but he looked unconvinced. Regardless of whether he wanted to say anymore on the subject he never got the chance because Lauren Simmons walked into the print room.

* * *

"Harry, Draco; I have really bad news," Ron said breathily when he bumped into the two boss's in the main justice department corridor.

"What is it?" Harry and Draco asked in unison.

"We checked those case files like you asked and there have been two other cases that match," Ron said as he caught his breath, "Two Junior Aurors have died in strange circumstances over the last two years."

Draco looked at Harry in shock, "You were right."

"Let's discuss this in the basement," Harry said, pushing open the door into the back corridor and striding ahead of them both.

* * *

"Eddie!"

Eddie was red in the face and looked worked up, "Dana hasn't been back in here has she?"

Daphne frowned, "No...why? Didn't you find her?"

"No," Eddie replied anxiously, "I looked everywhere but she's not at her flat, my flat, her parents' house-"

"Everyone listen to Ron!" Harry called loudly as he stepped into the basement with Ron and Draco at his heels.

Ron was still a little out of breath so he held out the files in his hand to Harry instead. The dark haired man sighed irritably and scanned the files, explaining the situation to the others as he did so.

"There have been two similar murders. Last May, Junior Auror Susanna Dewar was found in her flat dead. The case was closed as a suspected suicide, it seemed as if she had poisoned herself. There was no suicide note and sources said that Susanna was in a good place in her life. There was a charm found at the crime scene in the shape of a cross. In July 2003, Junior Auror Portia Forbes was found dead in a pond in her back garden. The official record says that she drowned. A charm in the shape of a steam train was found in the grass close to the pond."

"Three Aurors killed," Draco mused, "Two of them Juniors."

"And one who had just become a fully-fledged Auror," Neville added.

"Were they the same age?" Daphne asked.

Harry shook his head, "No...but...I _think_ that they all went through Auror training together. Ron, pull up the graduation list for May 2003!"

Ron did so, "Just the women?"

Harry nodded.

Ron began to read, "Portia Forbes, Susanna Dewar, Anna Simmons...Dana Burton-"

Eddie's face had drained of all colour, "What?"

"Dana was in Auror training with all three of them," Harry said slowly, "And she ran away when she heard about the charms...she knew that the charms pointed towards someone..."

"Dana doesn't run away," Eddie said angrily, "She's not a coward!"

"She didn't run away because she was scared," Harry realised, "She ran away because she knew who was behind this and she wanted to get revenge. How many times have I told that girl not to act on impulse? Had she just told us she would have had back-up!"

"She's not dead," Eddie said firmly, "She's not!"

"Not yet," Harry said darkly, "But if the person who did this to Portia, Susanna and Anna has her then we need to find her quickly."

"Harry, there was one more woman who went through Auror training with the 4 girls," Ron said with a frown, "She was called Kellie Wilson."

"Was?" Draco asked, "She's dead?"

Ron nodded, "Yeah, she died before she could graduate from Auror training. The report into her death is pretty vague. It just says that she died in January 2003 in a hostage situation in a field training exercise that went wrong."

"Were Dana and the three victims on that mission?" Harry asked.

Ron nodded again, "Yeah, they were."

"Did Kellie have any family?" Neville asked, catching Harry's eye as he realised where this was going.

Ron continued to read, "When she died in 2003 she had a brother. He's called Kayden and he's 20 years old now."

"Background?" Harry asked.

"He was in Slytherin, he and Kellie were both muggle-borns. They lived in orphanages growing up, Hogwarts was basically their only home. Kellie joined Auror training right out of school. She died when Kayden was leaving school and he doesn't seem to have worked since."

"So he's our beggar," Theo realised.

Ron gave a slow nod, "And there's another connection. All three paid 100 galleons out via elf-debit right before their death. Susanna sent the money to a Bill Hickok and Portia sent it to Mike Connor."

"All names relating to classic muggle films," Harry said quickly.

"That makes sense of the charms!" Daphne said realised, "They were obviously from Kellie's charm bracelet. She's a muggle-born so she must believe in God, hence the cross. The steam train represents her escape from the world that she hated to the magical world where she fitted in. The owl...was she a Hufflepuff?"

Ron nodded, "Yeah, how did you get that from an owl?"

"Helga Hufflepuff introduced owl post to Hogwarts," Daphne said quickly, "Kayden is getting his revenge and he's leaving bits of Kellie's charm bracelet at all of the crime scenes."

"And he _has_ Dana!" Eddie said.

"Yes, but panicking about that isn't going to help us get her back," Draco said rationally, "We don't even know where Kayden is yet or where he's keeping Dana."

"We can find out," Harry said quietly, "The other Aurors that Kayden took were less lucky than Dana. At the start of this year all Aurors had to supply a blood sample for a new tracking system. It was designed so that in situations like this Aurors could be tracked and found. It was for a worst case scenario situation too, so that if they weren't found alive we could...bring their bodies back."

"We better find her alive," Eddie said darkly.

"We can't guarantee that and you know it," Neville said firmly, "But we _can_ do everything in our power to get her back. Theo, do you know how to use the tracking system?"

Theo nodded, "I just need the blood sample."

Harry reached into his Auror robes and pulled out a small case. He opened it and took out one phial, "I have to keep a copy of my teams samples on me at all times for safety reasons, it's protocol," he said as he handed it to Theo.

Theo didn't blink an eye as he busied himself with blood magic and complicated wand movements. Eddie paced the basement anxiously, wringing his hands back and forth. It felt like it took a very long time for Theo to have finished his work but in reality it barely took 10 minutes.

"She's in a cave in Wales," Theo said, "I have the co-ordinates."

"Everyone suit up," Harry said as he headed for the back room, "We leave as soon as possible."

* * *

The cave had a small entrance high up on a hill. They had managed to apparate very close to that entrance and they were currently watching it carefully.

"What are we going to do?" Eddie asked urgently.

"We're going to go in, we just need a little more information before we do," Harry replied in a whisper, "You normally do this job Eddie, stop letting your emotions get in the way."

Eddie said no more, but he did glare in Harry's direction.

"Are you sure this is it, Theo?" Neville asked.

Theo frowned, "I'm positive, why?"

"There aren't any protective charms on the entrance to the cave," Neville replied.

"He's clearly gotten smug," Draco whispered, "He thinks we have no idea where he is or what he's doing."

"He doesn't know about the blood tracking," Harry said quietly, "It didn't exist when he killed his last victim. Can you tell how many people are inside there?"

"Two life signs," Theo whispered.

"Dana's alive," Eddie said, relief flooding his voice.

Harry nodded, "There's only him in there and there are no charms protecting the entrance. It may sound easy, but there are probably proximity charms placed around Dana. For obvious reasons Eddie cannot enter that cave so Eddie, you will stand guard outside with Ron and Theo."

Eddie nodded reluctantly.

"Draco, Neville, Daphne and I will go inside," Harry continued, "And we had better not waste any time, so let's go."

They were already disillusioned as they crept up to the cave entrance. They left Ron, Theo and Eddie outside to stand guard and crept through the cave. Harry took the lead and cast charms every few minutes to ensure that there were no traps. The cave wound onwards for about 10 minutes until eventually the tight passageway began to merge into a large cavern. As they approached the cavern they heard a male voice mutter about how someone would pay for what they had done, but they heard nothing from Dana.

"What now?" Draco whispered. They were leaning against a wall, peering into the main cavern.

Dana had been tied to a natural stone pillar and she was clearly silenced. She was shouting but no words were coming out of her mouth, and tears were pouring down her red, puffy cheeks.

"There's a proximity charm around her," Harry replied in a whisper, "If any of us get too close or if a spell hits it, then it will trigger and this whole cave will crumble to the ground."

"So how do we take it off?" Daphne asked.

"The only way that we can," Neville said, shooting Harry a look, "We're authorised to use unforgivables when the life of a fellow Auror is at risk, aren't we?"

"It's the only time that we are," Harry replied darkly, "I'll do it, I'm better than you are Neville."

Neville nodded, and Draco and Daphne watched in shock. Harry aimed his wand around the wall and pointed it at Kayden, "Imperius," he whispered.

Kayden stumbled and steadied himself on his feet like a dizzy fit had taken over him. When his eyes became a little unfocused, Harry took charge.

"Take the proximity charm off of Dana Burton," Harry whispered.

A short distance away Kayden pointed his wand at Dana and uttered the counter curse. There was a burst of magic and the shimmering proximity charm fell away.

"Go to sleep," Harry whispered, his eyes focused carefully on Kayden.

A moment later Kayden fell down into a heap. Harry did another charm to ensure that all enchantments had been removed then he said, "We're safe. I'll get Dana, stun and bind Kayden."

Daphne, Neville and Draco nodded and made their way towards Kayden while Harry jogged over to Dana.

He knelt down in front of her and took the silencing charm off. Dana immediately began to sob and utter incoherent words.

"It's okay," Harry said gently, holding her face in his hands, "You're going to be okay Dana. We have this guy, alright?"

Dana nodded and collapsed into Harry's arms.

* * *

Eddie looked paler than a ghost when the others returned. Draco and Neville came first, with an unconscious and bound Kayden between them. Daphne followed, and shortly behind her came Harry. He had Dana in his arms, she was conscious but clearly very badly shaken up by what had happened.

"Dana!" Eddie gasped, he rushed forward and took her from Harry's arms.

"I'm sorry," Dana said tearfully, "This is all my fault."

"No, but you should have told us," Eddie said, his anger and relief mingling, "We would have helped you if you had just told us!"

"It was my mistake, I had to fix it," Dana whispered.

Harry shook his head, "Dana, we are going to have to ask you about what happened but we have to get you to St. Mungo's first. Eddie, will you take her?"

Eddie didn't need to be asked. He walked away from the entrance of the cave and apparated to St. Mungo's with Dana in his arms.

"We need to question Kayden," Harry said, looking up at the dark sky, "But once he's been interrogated, I suggest we leave the paperwork until tomorrow."

"Dana needs to rest tonight too," Neville said logically.

"Ron and I will cover the interrogation," Harry said, "So that Draco can make his date."

Draco frowned, "What?"

"You don't want to miss your dinner with Michael," Theo smirked, "I set it up for 9pm at the Leaky."

Draco's frown deepened, "But this is important. I can't miss the interrogation-"

"Yes you can," Harry said, an unreadable look on his face, "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning for paperwork though."

"Are you sure?" Draco asked.

Harry nodded, prying his gaze from Draco's, "I'm sure, just go."

Draco sighed, but nodded, "Daphne, since you are the one who insists on me dating, you can come back with me and tell me what to wear."

"You don't need me, do you?" Daphne asked Harry.

Harry shook his head, "No, on you go."

They both left and Theo shuffled away from Ron, "I need to go too," he admitted sheepishly, his eyes flitting over to Ron briefly.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Mate, you can just say you need to go home to Hermione. I know you're dating her."

Theo looked suspicious, "And you're okay with that?"

"Not really," Ron said honestly, "But she's my friend so I have to at least pretend to like her boyfriends,"

"Thanks," Theo said sarcastically, "But I really do need to go home boss. Hermione's been worried about Dana and she'll want to go to visit her at St. Mungo's so-"

"Go home Theo," Harry said, he sounded exhausted.

Theo spun around and disappeared without another word. Harry looked between Ron and Neville, "Does anyone else have to dash away?"

"I do actually have a date," Ron admitted, "I can miss it if you really need me though."

"No, it's fine," Harry said, "I can interrogate him alone if need be. Who are you going on a date with?"

Ron spun once, "Hannah Abbott," he said before he disappeared.

Neville rolled his eyes, "So he's going on a date with the landlady of the Leaky and Draco's going on a date at the Leaky."

"And _we're_ interrogating this guy," Harry said as he lifted one end of the stretcher, "Unless you're going to ditch me for a date too."

"You're the one in a relationship here," Neville retorted, grabbing one end of the stretcher, "And my kind of girlfriend is clearly going to be busy getting Draco Malfoy prepared for his date. I have nothing better to do than interrogate this guy with you."

"Good to know I'm your last resort," Harry joked as they apparated away.

* * *

"That could have been you," Hermione said quietly.

"Except for the fact it wasn't," Theo said.

Hermione glared at him, "Don't be sarcastic! Dana could have died!"

"Yes dear," Theo said, rolling his eyes at her, "She's fine, she barely had a scratch on her. They only brought her in because of the shock."

"I'm just saying, your job _is_ dangerous," Hermione said. They were climbing the stairs in St. Mungo's in an attempt to find Dana's hospital room.

"I never said that it wasn't," Theo said, looking at her seriously for once, "But what happened to Dana is different. The case was complicated, we still haven't gotten to the bottom of it."

"I know," Hermione sighed, "I just wish I wasn't attracted to men who were attracted to danger."

"I'm not," Theo promised her completely seriously, "I like my job, but I hate the active aspect of it. I spend most of my time in the office, not in combat. Anyway, you wouldn't be a Gryffindor if you weren't attracted to dangerous men."

Hermione smiled slightly, "That's true," she admitted.

Theo gripped her hand tighter as they stepped into Dana's hospital room. Dana was awake, but she was looking very pale. Eddie was sitting by her bedside, his hand firmly in hers.

"Hey," Hermione said softly, "How are you both?"

"I'm fine," Eddie yawned, "Dana's the invalid."

Dana didn't even have the energy to roll her eyes at him, "I'll be alright, Hermione. I have a concussion and some magic poisoning from being kept under the proximity charm, so they're keeping me in for a few days."

"And then she'll be off work after that," Eddie said, "For at least a week."

"They don't kid when they say you get a bed in St. Mungo's when you become an Auror, eh?" Theo asked Dana with a smile.

"Yeah," Dana chuckled, "Was Eddie alright when I was gone?"

"If by alright you mean that he panicked like crazy, shouted at a lot of people and wanted to run into a cave without doing any surveillance checks; then yes," Theo said.

Eddie rolled his eyes, "Well Theo, that's what happens to you when you fall in love with someone."

"What, you panic and try and get yourself killed?" Theo quipped.

"No," Eddie said seriously, "You change. Your worry when you never used to, you get soft."

Theo smiled slightly at his best friend, "Yeah, I know."

Hermione's eyes widened, but she said nothing.

* * *

"You're here early."

Draco turned around, "Bright and early, as instructed," he said as he lit up his second cigarette of the morning.

"Yeah," Harry said, "Can I have one of those?"

"Still haven't quit yet then?" Draco said, holding a cigarette out.

"I changed my mind," Harry said, lighting the cigarette and sighing with appreciation, "I can't do this job and quit smoking at the same time, it's just not happening."

"How does Oliver feel about that?" Draco asked, his eyes boring into Harry's.

"He wasn't happy at first, but he accepted it," Harry said, leaning against the fence that had appeared around the patio area, "You were right, it wasn't healthy…to change myself for him. I told him that and he was horrified that he had made me feel like that. He told me he loved me, actually."

Something akin to pain flashed in Draco's eyes, "Good," he said stiffly.

"How did your date go last night?" Harry asked, admittedly a little nosily.

Draco looked thoughtful, "Better than any other date I've ever been on. Michael actually understands me and he doesn't judge me for my past which is quite a rare thing. If I can overlook his weird habits and his fondness for working with dead people, we might be able to make something of it."

Harry chuckled, "Good," he said, just as stiffly.

"How did your interrogation go last night?" Draco asked, mainly to change the subject.

"Well," Harry replied, "Once threatened with Azkaban he talked. He confessed to all three murders and the attempted murder of Dana."

"How long is he going to get?" Draco asked.

"Life," Harry replied, "He killed three Aurors, and if he had it his way he would have killed four."

"He won't last long in Azkaban," Draco said with a frown, "He seemed of a fragile mind."

"I know," Harry said, "But that's not my problem. I'm just glad that he's going to suffer for what he did."

"Did he say why he did it?" Draco asked curiously.

"Not really," Harry said, "He just kept saying that it was their fault and that he did it for Kellie. I'll need to talk to Dana to work out what happened to Kellie."

"Well if you don't mind, I'll stay here and get started on the paperwork," Draco said, glancing to the stack on his desk, "There's a hell of a lot of it."

"I know," Harry said. He yawned and added, "I'm going to give Eddie a few days sympathetic leave so that he can look after Dana if that's okay with you?"

"No, go ahead," Draco said, "He needs it."

Harry nodded, "Well thank you Draco. You were brilliant yesterday."

Draco caught his eye very briefly, "You weren't so bad yourself," he said simply.

* * *

When Harry walked into Dana's hospital room, the first thing that he did was smile. Eddie was sitting in a chair by her bed and he was fast asleep.

"Hey Dana," Harry whispered, sitting down on the edge of her bed.

Dana's eyes flicked to the notepad in his hand, "It's time, isn't it?"

Harry nodded, "You have to tell me what happened to Kellie Wilson."

Dana frowned down at her hands which were shaking slightly, "I was in my final year of Auror training. We were on our first field mission. It wasn't supposed to be a hostage situation but Kellie's shield charm dropped when she was duelling one of the men we were chasing. They took her captive and me and the other girls went to get her out."

"The other girls being Portia and Susanna?" Harry checked.

Dana nodded, "It looked easy. There were no charms around the house, there were no booby traps at all. We scanned the entire house before we ran in there to get Kellie but we...we missed something."

"She was under a proximity charm," Harry said quietly.

Dana looked down, tears spilling from her eyes, "We didn't know and when we started to duel the men who had her...one of the spells...it...it ricocheted."

"It's okay Dana, calm down," Harry said gently, "I need you to continue."

"We messed up," Dana said thickly, "And none of us knew which one of us had set off the charm. We lied when they did the report so that we weren't kicked out of training so close to graduation and we knew it would come back to haunt us one day."

"How long had you known that someone was coming after you?" Harry asked.

Dana wiped her eyes with shaking hands, "It was when we got this case in. I knew that Portia and Susanna were gone but I believed that it was an accident until you told me about Anna. When I heard that there was a charm of an owl I freaked out. Kellie loved her charm bracelet and Anna gave her the owl charm for her birthday..."

"Alright," Harry said softly, "I don't need to ask you anything else at the moment, but you will have to testify at Kayden's trial."

Dana nodded, "I can do that."

"Did you tell Eddie about this?" Harry asked, casting his eyes towards the sleeping man.

"I told him last night," Dana said in a whisper, "I thought he would have judged me, but he just hugged me."

"He's a good one," Harry said, smiling at the younger woman, "You're lucky."

"I know," Dana said, true emotion in her glassy eyes.

Harry smiled at her, "Which is why he deserves this. You'll make sure to pass it on when he wakes up, won't you?"

Dana frowned, "Pass what on?"

Harry picked up Eddie's badge and changed his class from III to II, "The fact he got promoted to a Class II Auror. You two are equals now."

Dana chuckled, "Theo will be jealous."

"He has nothing to be jealous about," Harry said with a cryptic smile, "I've just come from his flat. He got a promotion too, he was delighted. Hermione and me reckon he cried."

Dana grinned, "I'll definitely pass that part on to Eddie."

Harry laughed and grabbed the door handle, "I'll see you back at work in about a week, when you're fit to come back. You take care of yourself, alright?"

"I will," Dana promised.

"And when Eddie wakes up from his beauty sleep, let him know that Draco has granted him a few days' sympathetic leave to spend time with you," Harry added with his hand on the doorknob.

Dana's smile widened, "Thank you, and thank Draco for me."

"I will," Harry said quietly, "Get well soon Dana."

* * *

"How is that paperwork coming along?"

"Much better since I opened this," Draco said, motioning to the bottle of rum that was open on his desk.

Harry chuckled, "Between meetings and paperwork I've been tied up all day finishing up this case so I feel your pain."

"This is the part of the job that nobody tells you about," Draco said, signing a form and pushing the last piece of paperwork away from him. He looked up at Harry, "You hear about the exciting broom chases and the adrenaline rush of running into a fight to defend your country. You don't hear about the paperwork and the amount of times you have to sign your name when one of your team members gets injured."

Harry laughed heartily, "You can say that again," he said, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, "Do you want to join me?"

Draco smiled slightly and got to his feet. He picked up the bottle of rum and followed Harry out onto the patio. They sat down in the comfortable chairs and Draco put the rum on the small table between them.

As he lit up his cigarette, Draco said, "I have missed these chats of ours you know. It was pretty boring when you weren't smoking."

Harry chuckled, "Well I didn't start again just to keep you company. I've been smoking for years now, I'm pretty addicted."

Draco scoffed, "Nonsense, my Father started me on cigars when I was 12. You don't know addiction."

"That's not addiction," Harry joked, "That's just bad parenting."

Draco fixed Harry with a pointed look, "Did you ever _meet_ my Father?"

Harry laughed despite himself, "We make a good team you know."

"Sometimes," Draco agreed, "But I think we're better working with each other from a distance in the long-term."

Harry looked thoughtful, "It does get a bit intense otherwise."

"When have things between us _not_ been intense?" Draco pointed out with a smirk.

Harry smiled, "Yeah, when you put it that way..."

"Anyway," Draco said, standing up, "I'm going to have to take a rain check on this chat."

"Another hot date?" Harry asked, something akin to pain flickering in his eyes.

"Yeah," Draco said, watching Harry from the doorway, "Michael was horrified when I told him I'd never seen an evening Quidditch game so we're going to the Harpies vs Puddlemere friendly."

"Two dates in as many nights," Harry said with a sad smile, "Aren't you popular?"

Draco smirked, "Well some guys like the bad boys, Potter."

Harry smiled slightly, "Yeah, I guess some people do. I'll see you around?"

"See you around," Draco agreed. He put his cigarette out and made his way into the basement to change out of his Auror robes, leaving Harry alone with his cigarettes and rum.

 **TBC :)  
**


	16. Dungeons & Dragons

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 16 – Dungeons & Dragons**

"You're late _again_ this morning," Daphne said in a sing-song voice as she deposited a cup of coffee on his desk.

"I had a late night," Draco yawned, "And the coffee is much appreciated, thank you."

Daphne smiled far too broadly as she perched on his desk, "Was that late night with our coroner?"

Draco rolled his eyes and sipped his coffee, "Is this vanilla?"

"Yep," Daphne said brightly.

"Oh Merlin, you really do want me to spill about last night," Draco grinned as he lounged back in his chair, "I think I'll keep my lips sealed."

"Oh come on!" Daphne exclaimed, "I made you a vanilla latte!"

"You made it?" Draco asked in surprise, "You didn't just buy it from Starbucks?"

"Well I made my way to Starbucks and paid for it with my own hard earned cash," Daphne improvised.

Draco snorted in amusement, "Where are the others?"

"Neville is running an errand upstairs, Eddie isn't coming in because he's looking after Dana and Theo said he would be late today," Daphne rattled off, "Something about flat hunting, which means that we have plenty of time to talk about how great your date went last night-"

Daphne was cut off by someone walking into the basement. She and Draco both looked over to the door and realised that the someone was Harry. He smiled at them both, "How did the date go last night Malfoy?"

"That's what I'm trying to establish," Daphne said matter of factly, "He's in a very good mood so I'm guessing that it went _very_ well."

Draco rolled his eyes, "It went fine, thank you very much."

"What did you do then?" Daphne asked curiously.

"Watched Quidditch and sampled my rum collection," Draco said, a fond smile playing on his lips, "We talked all night about everything under the sun. I was late this morning because I was making breakfast."

"What did you make?" Harry asked.

"Why are you interested in what I made for breakfast?" Draco asked Harry in disbelief.

"Because what you make someone for breakfast is a big deal," Daphne said, "It says a lot about a relationship. What did you make?"

"Pancakes," Draco replied.

"You made Michael pancakes?" Daphne grinned, "Well, you really are smitten."

"Daphne, I make _you_ pancakes," Draco said in exasperation.

"Yeah but you don't stay up all night talking to me, sleep with me, swoon over me _and_ make me pancakes," Daphne quipped.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say. Potter, are you here with a case for us?"

"Yes, I am," Harry said, glancing around the basement, "Where are the rest of the team?"

"Eddie's still on sympathetic leave," Draco replied, "Neville's running an errand for you apparently and Theo is running late."

"Well you'll just have to brief them when they get here then," Harry said, handing a brown envelope over to Draco. He perched on the blonde's desk and began, "Marius Renshaw was reported missing this morning. He's a 32-year-old Magizoologist who was born in Northampton and has lived all over the world. He recently moved back to Britain to help look after his aging Mother and since then he's been working at Eeylops Owl Sanctuary and Breeding Centre in Keighley."

"Is that his last known location?"

"No," Harry replied, "He was last seen at a shelter for endangered magical creatures where he consults. His office was wrecked and all the evidence points towards him being taken from there in the middle of the night."

"Why was he in his office in the middle of the night?" Draco cut in.

Harry shot Draco an amused look, "It's called being a workaholic. You and I have both been in here in the middle of the night."

Draco shrugged, "Fair point."

"How do we know he isn't dead?" Daphne asked.

"We don't," Harry said honestly, "But until we find a body, we treat this as a missing persons case."

"Anything else we should know?" Draco asked.

"Just that all of his work was taken with him," Harry replied, "Apparently he kept a briefcase with all the work he had ever done and it's gone."

"Doesn't he have copies?" Daphne asked.

"If he does, nobody knows where they are," Harry said, stepping onto the concrete staircase, "Have fun with it!"

Draco rolled his eyes and opened the case file, "Until our resident Auror and Theo arrive, it's just the two of us so we might as well get a head start and check out the crime scene."

"Is it still called a crime scene when someone was kidnapped, not murdered?" Daphne mused as they walked towards the apparition point together.

Draco ignored her smart arse comment and read the co-ordinates to her before disappearing from view.

* * *

" _This_ is where he worked?"

"Volunteered," Draco corrected as he surveyed the area, "Apparently he volunteered here."

"What did he do, exactly?"

"That's what we need to find out," Draco said.

Daphne nodded, "This is like a playground for endangered animals," she said as she stared at the vast landscape in front of them. It ranged from a giant lake to a dense forest to desert like terrain. The roars of dragons could be heard amongst the screeches of an Augurey.

Draco looked just as mesmerized as he stepped up to the gate and placed his hand on it to be allowed entry.

"What is your business here?" A voice asked.

Draco lifted his badge to the gate, "My name is Auror Malfoy and this is my colleague Auror Greengrass. We're part of the investigation into the kidnapping of Marius Renshaw."

There was a moment of silence and then the gate swung open. Draco and Daphne stepped into the sanctuary and knocked on the door of the office building directly in front of them. It was opened by a young man who smiled at them, "Sorry about the security measures, we run a tight ship here."

"So I see," Draco said, "Can we come in?"

"Of course," The young man said. He stepped back and allowed them into the small office, "I'm Hank Fraser by the way, my Dad runs this place."

"Is he around?" Daphne asked, glancing around the office.

Hank pushed his long blonde hair away from his face and shook his head, "He isn't the most hands on boss that there ever was. He runs things from a distance and I keep an eye on the day to day running of the sanctuary."

"So Marius reported to you then?" Draco asked, sitting down in a chair by Hank's desk.

Hank nodded, "Yes, he did. Marius volunteers here whenever he has the time and we really are so grateful. A place like this is hard to keep afloat without a dedicated team and volunteers like Marius are a huge part of that."

"You can spare us the corporate bullshit," Daphne said matter of factly, "What did Marius do here, exactly?"

Hank smiled at her directness, "Marius is one of our experimental volunteers. Some would probably find what he does a little controversial in fact. He uses the blood and the hair, all sorts of things like that, of the creatures who live here. He uses them in potions, he tries to find cures and create new potions."

"For somewhere like this, that _is_ controversial," Draco agreed, narrowing his eyes at Hank.

"Marius never hurts the creatures," Hank assured them, "He never kills them either. He took a tiny bit of what he needed from them and allowed them to live in peace. He also works on ways to stop the animals from becoming extinct."

"Cloning?" Daphne asked.

Hank nodded, "We're so far away from that, but Marius does try his best."

"So he was well liked here?" Draco asked.

Hank nodded, "Nobody had any ill feeling towards him, not as far as I was aware. Marius kept his head down and got on with his work, he never liked to bother anyone."

Draco nodded thoughtfully and looked out of the window, "So what is it you actually do here?" he asked.

Hank got to his feet and stood by the window, "I suppose in a sense this place is the legacy of Newt Scamander. He discovered almost all of these creatures and carried them around in a magical briefcase. He had a habitat, specific to each creature in that briefcase. Here we create permanent habitats, the animals are safe from other predators here which means they can breed and thrive where they can't anymore in the wild."

"It's a noble cause," Daphne said.

Hank smiled, "Yeah, we like to think so. Do you need any more information from me? I have a big corporate meeting upstairs in 10 minutes."

"We'll need to talk to the other volunteers," Draco said.

"That's fine," Hank replied, "They will all be out in the yard at the moment."

"Oh and one more question Hank," Draco said before the man could disappear up the staircase, "Was Marius working on anything when he was taken?"

Hank laughed, "Marius was always working on something. He always had some mad theory going on but I think he had a big idea this time. He was in his office all of the time and he was really closing into himself."

Draco nodded, "Thanks for your time Hank," he said, leading Daphne out into the yard to speak to Marius's co-workers. At this current moment in time there were only two.

"Excuse me," Draco said as they approached the first, "Auror Malfoy, do you have a moment?"

The girl he had spoken to nodded. She looked very young, barely even 18.

"It's about Marius, isn't it?"

Daphne nodded, "How well did you know him?"

"Not too well," The girl said, "I just graduated from Hogwarts this year and started volunteering in this place. Marius was always nice to me, he always asked how I was getting on and he liked to try and get me job interviews too."

"What's your name?"

"Isabella," She replied, "Is Marius going to be okay?"

"We don't know for sure yet," Daphne replied honestly, "But we're trying to find him. Do you know of anyone who would want to kidnap him?"

"No, everyone liked Marius," Isabella said sadly, "He kept himself to himself, he never bothered anyone."

"Did he ever talk to you about his work?" Draco asked.

"He used to," Isabella replied, "But lately he hadn't been. Whatever he was working on was really secret. He never even kept copies like he normally does, he kept everything locked in his briefcase."

"And you have no idea what he was working on?" Daphne asked.

Isabella shook her head, "No, I'm sorry."

Draco hid his frustration as he thanked the girl for her help. But it was harder to hide after they had spoken to the second colleague who verified that Marius was a lovely guy and who also had no idea what he had been working on recently.

* * *

When Daphne and Draco stepped back into the basement they felt fairly empty handed.

"Where have you two been?" Neville asked when he saw them.

"Working a case unlike you two bums," Daphne retorted.

"What case?" Theo asked curiously.

"A magizoologist called Marius Renshaw has gone missing," Draco replied, "His briefcase containing whatever he was working on at the time was stolen and according to everyone we've asked there are no copies of that work. Whatever it was, it had a hand in his kidnapping."

"So where are we at?"

"We're not far," Daphne admitted, "Draco and I didn't get anything out of our visit to his workplace."

"But we haven't had a look at the office he was snatched from yet," Draco admitted, "So Neville, take Theo and analyse that crime scene for any trace of fingerprints or DNA. There's a chance whoever snatched him left their mark somewhere."

"Yes boss," Neville said, grabbing his Auror robes and sweeping over to the apparition point with Theo on his heel.

"What are we going to do?" Daphne asked.

"We need to try and find out what he was up to," Draco said, "Can you look through the copies of his old work that we found in Hank's filing cabinet?"

"Sure," Daphne replied, "Where are you going?"

"To Granger's office," Draco replied, "She might know more than us about what's going on here."

* * *

 _Knock. Knock._

"Come in."

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes when he stepped into Harry's office and saw Oliver sitting on a sofa that had materialised there.

"Potter," Draco said politely, "Oliver."

"Malfoy," Harry said, just as politely, "How's the case going?"

"It's not going far," Draco admitted, "I don't suppose Granger knows anything more than we do?"

"Possibly," Harry said honestly, "In fact, she's not working on anything at the moment. Why don't you ask her to tag along on this case with you? She might get more out of the people at the sanctuary than your guys could."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Draco asked with a frown, "With her and Theo being involved, I mean?"

"Why does it matter?" Harry asked diplomatically, "Does your relationship with the coroner affect your ability to do your work?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "Michael, he's called Michael. Not _the coroner_."

Oliver laughed from the sofa, "He has a point Harry. How would you like it if people referred to you as the Head Auror instead of by your name?"

"Exactly," Draco remarked, "See, thank you Oliver."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco, "Does it affect your ability to do your job?"

"No," Draco replied honestly, "But Michael and I are professionals. Granger is…well she's emotional because she's _Granger_."

"She's also my best friend so watch what you say," Harry pointed out.

"Fine," Draco sighed, "She can ride along on this one. But if I turn out to be right I will be saying I told you so."

"Why don't you say it over a Quidditch game?" Oliver piped up.

Draco frowned, "What?"

Harry looked just as bemused as he looked at his boyfriend. Oliver smiled brightly, "Assuming you close this case before Saturday that is. Puddlemere are playing the Appleby Arrows and we're all Quidditch fans aren't we? You, Harry, me and Michael."

"Are you suggesting a double date?" Harry asked, looking at the man in disbelief.

Oliver's smile widened, "Exactly. You two are friends, Michael and I are friends. What could possibly go wrong?"

Draco and Harry caught each other's eyes briefly, "Everything," they echoed.

Oliver laughed good naturedly and clapped Draco on the back, "It will be fun!" he said cheerfully.

"Fun," Harry said, waving goodbye to Oliver as he left the office.

"Fun?" Draco asked in disbelief, "A double date with you and Mr. Mccheery over there is going to be _fun_?"

"It wasn't my idea!" Harry exclaimed.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Fun," he muttered irritably as he stalked out of the office.

* * *

Draco knocked on Hermione's door a little too hard.

"Come in, and don't smash my door!" Hermione's voice called.

Draco managed to walk into the office without smashing the door and without rolling his eyes.

Hermione didn't even look up from her paperwork as she asked, "What's twisted your boxers up today, Malfoy?"

He glared at her, "Your idiot of a best friend and his idiot of a boyfriend. I mean why would anyone think a double date between two former enemies was a good idea?"

Hermione grinned as she looked up, "You're going on a double date…you and Michael with Harry and Oliver?"

"Even _you_ know about me and Michael?" Draco asked in disbelief, "For Salazar's sake, word does travel fast around here."

"It's like being back in Hogwarts," Hermione snorted, "But are you seriously double-dating?"

"I didn't exactly get much choice in the matter, but yes," Draco said irritably.

"That sounds fun," Hermione said sarcastically.

"If I hear the word fun one more time, I'm not going to extend the offer I came here to extend," Draco remarked.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "Okay, you've caught my attention. What offer?"

"I have a missing magizoologist and a sketchy sanctuary where he was working. I don't trust the boss or the staff and my missing magizoologist was working on something top secret when he was taken but I have no idea what that was," Draco admitted.

"So you need my help," Hermione smirked.

"Yes Granger, I need your help," Draco said with a roll of his eyes, "And Potter wants you tagging along on this case even though I think that's a terrible idea because of your involvement with Theo-"

Hermione snorted, "You think my involvement with Theo makes a damn bit of a difference? When I focus on getting a job done, I succeed. Do you have a case file?"

Draco nodded and handed it to her. Hermione scanned it at record speed and handed it back to Draco, "Have you surveyed the scene yet?"

"Got your boyfriend and Neville on it as we speak," Draco replied.

Hermione got to her feet and led the way out of her office, "I know Marius Renshaw. He's a very nice guy, a creatures right activist with a twist I suppose. He believes in using humane methods to experiment with the blood of creatures. He's a bit of a mad scientist, he thinks he can cure everything if he just gets the formula right."

"Any idea what he was working on?"

"Without seeing a back log of his projects, no," Hermione admitted, "But if you have copies of his work, I might be able to piece something together."

"It's all in the basement," Draco said as they stepped into the elevator together.

"We'll have to go back to the sanctuary too," Hermione said thoughtfully, "I want to talk to his co-workers myself. I learned something very early on in this job…"

"What's that?" Draco asked curiously.

"Never trust anyone who works with magical creatures," Hermione replied, "They can be the nicest people that you have ever met or lying, cheating scumbags using the creatures on their path to fame, fortune and glory."

"What about this Marius Renshaw then?" Draco asked as they walked along the main corridor in the DMLE.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted, "Like I say, he's lovely but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have ulterior motives. I only saw what was on the surface, you of all people will know what can be hiding under an ordinary exterior."

"I learned that very quickly when I started doing this job," Draco admitted.

Hermione nodded as they stepped into the basement, "Ask me for my opinion again when I've had some time to read up on this guy's work."

"It's all there," Draco said, pointing to the huge stack of paperwork on Daphne's desk, "So be my guest."

* * *

"This place is a wreck."

"Whoever took Renshaw was looking for something," Neville agreed as he surveyed the mess that was the office, "The filing cabinets are empty and it looks like parchment has been ripped off of the walls too…"

"Not to mention the fact everything has been swept off of the desk," Theo said, stepping over a smashed ornament.

"There's nothing left here but junk," Neville sighed.

"And nowhere to keep a hidden copy either," Theo said, scanning the room with his eyes.

"Well hopefully there are fingerprints," Neville said, glancing at his colleague.

Theo nodded as he flicked his wand a few times in a fancy pattern.

"You ready?"

Theo nodded so Neville clicked his fingers, plunging the room into darkness.

The fingerprints glowed in the darkness in four different colours, "I'll collect these fingerprints and we'll check them back at the basement," Theo said through the darkness.

"Is there no other DNA evidence?"

"No," Theo replied, "The place has been fairly well swept of it. These only survived because they are in the places people don't think to look like the outside of the window and underneath the desk."

"One set will be Marius's," Neville said.

"But the other three might give us something," Theo said, "Right, I'm done. Hit the lights."

With a click of Neville's fingers, daylight was restored to the room. The taller man looked over at Theo, "Is there anything else that we can do here?"

Theo shook his head, "I'm going to get back to the basement and start analysing these. Can you stay and gather the fingerprints of everyone who works here?"

Neville nodded, "See you back at base this afternoon."

* * *

"Okay so I have four sets of fingerprints and – Hermione, what the hell are you doing here?"

Hermione frowned and held up a hand.

"She's been reading intensely for the last hour," Daphne said with an amused look, "And as you know Theo, she doesn't like to be interrupted."

"Is she helping with the case?" Theo asked.

Draco nodded, "We're one man down with Eddie still being on sympathetic leave. Potter thinks bringing Granger in on this one is a good idea. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course not," Theo replied, "As I was saying, we found four sets of fingerprints at the crime scene. Neville is gathering the fingerprints of Renshaw's colleagues and once he has done I'm going to run them and work out who they belong to."

Draco nodded, "Good work. We haven't had much luck as of yet, but hopefully the super woman here is going to come out of her intense reading session with some genius theory."

Theo smiled fondly at his girlfriend at those words.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Theo, satisfy a theory for me. Can you run those fingerprints through the system and see if they match anyone with a criminal record?"

"Sure," Theo replied. He placed the fingerprints onto a large black dome that he kept on his desk carefully. It flashed red and began to buzz, he glanced over at Daphne, "What do you think they're going to bring up?"

"I don't know," Daphne admitted, "I just have a hunch that this guy has connections that are less than ethical. He seems the type, from what everyone has said he's _too_ nice."

Theo snorted, "He's too nice so you think he secretly hangs out with criminals?"

"Just humour me," Daphne remarked, "Anything?"

Theo frowned and placed his hand on the dome, "Uh…yes."

"What?" Daphne and Draco asked at the same time.

"One set of fingerprints matching Charlie Weasley's," Theo replied.

"The smuggler and black market dealer!" Daphne said with a grin, "I knew it!"

Draco summoned a file out of the cabinet and glanced at it, "No last known address."

"But you know who would know, right?" Daphne said with a smirk, "The guy you and Mikey are double dating with on Saturday."

Draco rolled his eyes and thrust the case file at Theo, "Daphne, you're coming with me. If Potter knows where Weasley is, we're bringing him in for questioning. Theo, scour that for everything that you can and see what more you can do with those fingerprints. Contact me if your girlfriend comes out of her trance."

Theo mock saluted Draco and said, "Sir, yes Sir!" as he and Daphne exited the basement.

* * *

"Do you know where Charlie Weasley is?"

Harry looked up from his case file with a frown, "Maybe, why?"

"I need to arrest him," Draco replied.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Draco, "Why?"

"Because his finger prints were found at my crime scene," Draco said calmly, "And I get that hes your friend and you dated his little sister in high school Potter but if you know where he is-"

"Don't try and take the moral high ground here," Harry cut in, "I'll tell you where he is. But don't arrest him okay? Bring him in for questioning if you have to but don't arrest him until you have something to arrest him for. At the moment all you know is that his finger prints are at a sanctuary for endangered animals. That's not a crime."

"No, but it's not a coincidence either," Draco remarked, "The guy works with black markets selling dragons blood and phoenix feathers for Merlin's sake!"

"All I'm saying is hear him out first," Harry said, his eyes meeting Draco's, "Please."

Draco scoffed, "Like I'm going to fall for the big green doe eyes Potter. I'm not Oliver."

Harry eyed Draco carefully for a moment, "I never said you were."

The air suddenly felt tense so Draco asked, "Where is he?"

"He's in Knockturn alley," Harry sighed, "He's staying above The Hags Head at the moment."

Draco gave Harry a stiff nod and stepped out of the office.

"How'd it go?" Daphne asked, pushing herself off of the wall and walking in line with him towards the apparition point.

"He's staying above the Hags Head in Knockturn," Draco replied, quickening his pace so he wouldn't need to be questioned about his bad mood.

* * *

"Hermione, have you got a second? I need to talk to-"

Hermione's hand came up and she waved it in Harry's face.

Theo snorted in amusement and said, "She doesn't talk when she's got her brain in as high a gear as this, remember?"

Harry rolled his eyes and flopped onto the sofa next to Theo, "I need someone to bitch to."

"Well I have a fantastic record," Theo said matter of factly, "I have been called a bitch many a time."

Harry shook his head in amusement, "Your best friend is an arse, do you know that?"

"Yes, yes I do," Theo said matter of factly, "What's he done this time?"

"I just don't get him," Harry said honestly, "One minute he's playing nice with Oliver like they're friends and then the next he's bitching to me about how he's not Oliver. I _know_ he's not Oliver because Oliver is not a complete arsehole."

"You really do need a bitch," Theo said in amusement.

Harry nodded irritably, "What's his problem?"

"He has a lot of problems," Theo shrugged, "He's being less of a dick now he's with Michael though. At first I thought it was just cause he was actually getting some but then I walked in on full on mushy moments happening on the patio the other night."

Harry made a face, "What's that about anyway? Him and Michael Corner? I don't get it, I mean they're just totally incompatible aren't they?"

"Funny," Theo said slyly, "Draco thinks the same about you and Oliver."

Harry scoffed, "What would Draco know about _my_ relationship?"

"What would you know about his?" Theo quipped.

Harry rolled his eyes, "You could be a psychiatrist, do you know that?"

"A what?" Theo asked.

"Like a healer who specialises in mental crap," Harry said with a wave of his hand.

"Hmm," Theo hummed, "I would be good at that. It's because I have this really special skill that hardly anyone knows about it-"

"I know about your Legilimency, Theo," Harry said, "That's how you can tell what people are thinking."

"When I use it, that's true," Theo admitted, "But I tune it out because it's rude to eavesdrop on people's thoughts."

"That's new," Harry chuckled.

"Yeah well that's one of the things Hermione taught me," Theo said, glancing at the woman in amusement. She paid no attention so Theo turned back to Harry, "But even with it tuned out I can tell when someone is talking bullshit and you and Draco talk more bullshit than most."

"What is that supposed to-"

"Eureka!"

Harry and Theo both jumped.

"What the hell is a Eureka?" Theo asked, staring at his girlfriend as he clutched his heart.

"Newton said it when the apple fell on his head and he discovered gravity," Hermione rattled off without looking up.

Theo looked at Harry, "Do you have any idea what she's talking about?"

Harry shook his head and mumbled, "Nope, just roll with it."

"Okay," Theo said with a firm nod, "Did you put the pieces together then Hermione?"

Hermione nodded and looked up. She caught Theo's eye, "Contact Malfoy. I don't want to have to repeat this…"

Theo nodded and pressed down on his communications bracelet.

"Hi Hermione," Harry said sarcastically, "It's nice to see you too."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Oh be quiet Harry," she said as Theo sniggered into his bracelet

* * *

"Charlie Weasley, don't move," Draco said firmly as he stood over the redhead, "You are being brought into the Ministry of Magic for questioning."

"Not that I could move, even if I wanted to," Charlie said, looking up at Daphne who had her foot on his chest, "Not without a stiletto going through my chest."

Daphne simply smirked and Charlie looked up, "Under whose authority are you arresting me?"

"Mine," Draco said, enjoying this far too much. He pulled out his badge and held it in Charlie's face, "Auror Draco Malfoy and I gather you know of my colleague Auror Greengrass?"

Charlie laughed loudly, "Draco Malfoy…. a Death Eater who has been reformed into an Auror. I reckon I know who's behind this, I mean there can only be one person…Harry?"

Draco ignored his words and bound his arms and legs together, "Apparate to the Ministry Daphne, I'll follow with him."

Daphne nodded and they went their separate ways. Draco apparated himself and Charlie back to the Ministry and put Charlie in an interrogation room. For a moment he thought about asking Daphne to sit in on this one with him but then he decided it would probably be better to do it alone.

He stepped into the room and sat down opposite Charlie, "I suppose you know why you're here."

"I'm more interested in why you're here," Charlie said, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded across his chest, "Harry offered you a deal, I suppose?"

"Something like that," Draco said, flipping open his case file and looking Charlie in the eye, "Just like he let you escape when you should have been arrested for being a part of that dragon smuggling ring."

Charlie smirked, "So you know perfect little Harry better than I thought. I still don't have a shred of respect for you after what your Father did."

"My Father died for his crimes, and my Mother died for his crimes too," Draco said darkly, "I'd say it's about time we let go of this family feud. Even your brother and I have managed to become friends."

"You and Ron?" Charlie laughed. He shook his head, "Well, I never thought I would see the day. Me being interrogated by _you_. What do you want with me, Malfoy? If this isn't about revenge or a family feud then what _is_ it about?"

"It's about a case," Draco said, watching Charlie carefully, "I have a missing magizoologist, a kidnapped one at that and your fingerprints were found in his office."

"Why would I want to kidnap a magizoologist?" Charlie asked.

Draco shrugged, "You tell me."

Charlie narrowed his eyes at the blonde, "Is your missing man Marius Renshaw?"

"You know him?"

"He's an acquaintance," Charlie admitted, "He buys from me occasionally. He takes what he can from the creatures at the sanctuary but sometimes he needs something a bit harder to come by for his experiments."

"What do you know about his experiments?" Draco asked, "Because it seems to us like his latest project is the reason for his kidnapping."

"I just know he works on weird stuff," Charlie said honestly, "I don't like to ask to be honest with you. I've got no reason to hurt the guy or kidnap him though, you can trust me on that."

"Then how did your fingerprints end up in his office?" Draco asked.

Charlie sighed, "I'd sold him dragons blood a few days before I heard he was kidnapped. When I read that something had grabbed him in the paper I panicked, I knew if the Aurors found the blood it would come back to me so I snuck in to steal it back. But I searched that office from top to bottom and it was already gone, whoever took him took the blood too."

"Do you have any idea what he was using the blood for?" Draco asked.

Charlie shrugged, "Dragon's blood has lots of magical properties. It can be used in curative potions or in love potions…he could have been doing anything with it."

Draco sighed, but nodded, "Well thank you for your assistance," he said as he opened the door, "I'm not going to charge you."

"You're just going to let me go?" Charlie asked in disbelief.

Draco nodded and caught his eye, "Take this as proof that I really don't care about a family feud our Fathers started years ago. Just get out of here before a less than generous Auror finds you."

Charlie actually smiled at those words. He clapped Draco on the back and said, "Thanks Malfoy," before heading over to the apparition point.

* * *

"What do you mean you _let_ him go?"

"I mean I let him go," Draco replied calmly, "He clearly had nothing to do with the kidnapping of Renshaw."

"So?" Daphne asked in disbelief, "He's a dragon smuggler and he runs a black market. There were dozens of things you could have charged him for!"

"But why would I want to?" Draco asked her as they bickered in the main corridor of the justice department, "What's he done that I didn't do?"

"So that's why you let him go?" Daphne asked, narrowing her eyes at him, "It has nothing to do with your friendship with Potter?"

Draco scoffed, "And why would that change anything?"

"I heard your conversation," Daphne said, challenging him, "I was right outside the door. You don't fall for his big green doe eyes? Bullshit, all he has to do is look at you and say 'Draco, please' and you fall at your bloody knees."

"Shut up," Draco snapped, shutting the door to the back corridor harshly, "I let Weasley go as a show of good faith. I'm sick of stupid feuds like a schoolboy rivalry with Potter and a family feud with the Weasley's. I want to move past it all, so I let him go now I want _you_ to let it go, Daphne!"

Before Daphne could say anything else, they stepped into the basement where they were surprised to see Harry sitting alongside Theo and Hermione.

"Malfoy!" Hermione exclaimed, "I found something."

"So did we," Draco replied, "Renshaw was using dragons blood in his latest experiment. Charlie Weasley told me all about it."

"And then you let him go," Daphne muttered.

"You let him go?" Harry asked in surprise.

Draco nodded, "Yes, but I put a tracking charm on him so that if he does know more than he's letting on, we'll know about it."

"You never told me that!" Daphne exclaimed.

"If you had stopped lecturing me for 5 minutes, I would have," Draco said, smirking at his best friend and turning back to Hermione, "What did you find out, Granger?"

"Well the dragon's blood thing…that makes this all make a lot more sense," Hermione said thoughtfully, "He was trying to find a cure, I think. All of his work centred around curative potions and I found a stock list from about a month before he started his project. It was missing a few ingredients but from what _was_ on there I could tell that he was working on a curative potion and that it had something to do with nerve damage."

"Nerve damage?" Harry frowned.

"Everything he was using was regenerative," Hermione explained, "Newts tails for example. Newts can grow back their tails if they are cut off. Flobberworms, they can be cut in half and put themselves together again. Now dragons blood too, dragons are reptiles they have curative and regenerative properties as well."

"Spit it out Granger," Draco said, "What was he working on?"

"He was working on a cure to the Cruciatus curse," Theo realised.

Hermione looked up at him and nodded, "I thought it was about nerve damage, but it isn't. It's about brain damage. It was all to regenerate brain cells and damaged nerves in the brain."

Harry stared at them in disbelief, "A cure to the Cruciatus curse?"

"That explains why someone would want to kidnap him," Draco said, catching Harry's eye.

Harry nodded, not tearing his gaze away from Draco's, "If someone found out he was close to finding a cure they would want to kill him for it. They would want the glory for themselves."

"But it goes deeper than that," Draco said, subconsciously walking closer to Harry, "If he was working on something like this he must have had help. Either from within the Ministry or from within St. Mungo's."

"Which means…" Harry said, stepping even closer to Draco, "…if our Ministry wanted that cure another Ministry would want it too."

"A Ministry who wanted to best the British," Draco added.

"It was the fucking French," Draco and Harry echoed, now standing very close together.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Daphne and murmured, "Do they always do that?"

"Yeah," Daphne replied, sounding exasperated, "Yet they're dating other people because they 'hate' each other."

Hermione sniggered and turned back to Harry and Draco who had now moved away from each other, both looking slightly red in the face.

"We need to go back to the sanctuary," Draco said, "If someone was monitoring his work then they had to be volunteering there. We're looking for someone foreign who disappeared shortly after Renshaw did."

The others had already pulled their Auror robes on. Harry sighed, "I need to get back to my case upstairs. Fill me in when you know anything else please."

"We will," Draco promised, leading the way to the apparition point at the back of the basement.

* * *

"Hello again Hank," Draco said politely as he walked into the sanctuary's office, followed by Daphne, Neville and Theo.

Hank smiled politely, "Auror Malfoy. How can I help you?"

"We need a list of everyone who volunteered here at the same time as Marius Renshaw," Draco replied.

"Of course," Hank said, beginning to flick through files in the cabinet behind his desk, "Do you mind me asking why?"

"We are fairly certain we know who took Marius," Daphne replied, "A foreign volunteer who left the sanctuary shortly after Marius was kidnapped."

"Well there was Francois Piccard," Hank said, pulling out a brown file and handing it to Draco, "He started volunteering here on a 3-month educational visa which ended a week before Marius was taken."

"Piccard?" Theo asked, "He was French?"

"Yes," Hank replied, "Do you think he had something to do with Marius's disappearance?"

Draco nodded, "We do. Thanks for your help Hank."

* * *

"Find me anything you can on Francois Piccard," Draco barked as they stood in the basement, "I want all known addresses or anywhere he could be hiding out. We have to hope that he's not made it to France with Renshaw yet. It's not exactly difficult to smuggle someone via muggle transport so chances are he's already gone."

"Or Renshaw is dead in a ditch somewhere and Piccard is in France handing over the cure to the Ministry for a hefty fee," Daphne added.

"Exactly," Draco said darkly, "But for the moment let's hope that he's still in Britain. Contact me if you find anything. I'm going to St. Mungo's to see if anyone knew about Renshaw's project. Someone ratted him out to the French government and whoever did that might well know what Piccard did with Renshaw."

* * *

 _Knock. Knock._

"Come in!"

Michael smiled when Draco walked through the door, "If it wasn't for the ominous look on your face I'd suggest lunch. But something tells me that business brings you here, not pleasure."

Draco nodded and sat down heavily opposite Michael, "I need you to rat out one of your colleagues."

Michael leant forward and raised an eyebrow, "You're gonna have to elaborate on that one."

"I'm working a case," Draco said, rubbing his eyes, "I have a magizoologist who has gone missing. He was working on a cure, a very important, very secretive cure. He was kidnapped by the French and someone in this hospital ratted him out."

"This is a very big hospital and I'm just one guy who works with dead people," Michael pointed out, "What makes you think I know anything?"

Draco caught his eye, "Your Grandmother is French, Michael."

Michael raised an eyebrow at him, "You think I did it? Well…that's an interesting turn of events."

"I don't think you did it," Draco said honestly, "But I think you have an idea about who did."

Michael sighed and raised his hands, "I've heard rumours, but I don't know anything for sure. I promise, Draco."

"What rumours have you heard?" Draco asked.

"The coroner who covers for me on my weekends off," Michael said, "His name is Anthony Goldstein. He's half French and most people think he's a complete arsehole. He's anti-Ministry and he can't stand Aurors."

"So he would have reason to give the French the cure," Draco said slowly.

Michael nodded, "But you didn't hear it from me. Okay?"

Draco nodded and caught his eye, "Thanks Michael, really."

Michael shook his head, "I hate ratting out fellow Ravenclaws, but if it means finding this magizoologist alive then I'm willing to help you. I want you to know that you can trust me Draco."

"I do," Draco said, reaching across the desk and grabbing his hand, "I just don't show it very well most of the time."

Michael smiled, "Well it's nice to hear it. I'll see you tomorrow for this double date Oliver has planned for us?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I'll see you then."

* * *

"What have you got?" Draco asked, stepping back into the basement with a large bag. He surveyed the scene and was glad that Hermione wasn't here because he knew she would disapprove of what he was about to do.

"Piccard was a dragon trainer," Theo replied, "He was clearly only volunteering at the sanctuary to get the dirt on Renshaw. He has no known addresses, he just bounces around from place to place, country to country."

"Well I might be able to help you find him," Draco said, he unzipped the bag and pulled out a yelping person while the others stared in shock.

"Is that…" Daphne trailed off.

"Anthony Goldstein," Draco finished, shoving the man into a chair and binding him to it, "Yes, it is. This is the traitor who ratted Renshaw out to the French which is treason unless I'm mistaken?"

Neville nodded, "It is but Malfoy…kidnapping him, that's not going to go down well with Harry."

"When Potter hired me he said this team did whatever it took to get things done," Draco said firmly, "Whatever it takes to catch the bad guy. We don't have time to do things the right way because Piccard could be halfway to France with Renshaw right now and this scumbag is the only person who knows where they are."

Anthony cowered as Draco turned to him, "Tell me where your French buddy is and I won't hurt you."

"I can't," Anthony said, "I can't tell you."

Draco sighed, "Then I guess I _will_ have to hurt you."

"No!" Anthony shouted, "I swear, I can't tell you."

"Can't or won't?" Draco asked with narrowed eyes.

"He forced me to make an unbreakable vow," Anthony said with wide eyes.

Draco watched him for a moment, "Do you think I care? Tell me where he is right now Goldstein."

"Draco!" Neville hissed, "If you force him to tell you, he'll die!"

"He's bluffing," Draco said calmly. He stepped up to Anthony and held his wand against his neck, "Now Goldstein. Tell me where Piccard is or we'll see what happens when I use a cutting curse this close to your neck."

"No," Anthony said, shutting his eyes tightly as Draco made the smallest of cuts. It wasn't enough to seriously hurt him but it did the trick.

"Fine! He took him to a warehouse near the port of Dover!" Anthony shouted, "He needed to torture the code for the briefcase out of him then he said he was going to kill him and take the cure to France!"

"Draco!" Neville shouted, "You've just sentenced him to death!"

Draco took a step back and looked at Anthony, "Does he look dead to you? An unbreakable vow kills a person the second they break it. If he had been telling the truth, he would have died before he could have finished that sentence. I told you, he was bluffing."

Neville stared at Draco in disbelief, "You didn't know that for sure."

"Yes, I did," Draco lied, "Now suit up, we're heading to Dover. We need to find Marius before he caves and gets himself killed."

* * *

The air was tense as the team waited outside an abandoned warehouse. Neville was clearly still unhappy with Draco, and the rest of the team were in shock from what they had witnessed in the basement. But they had a job to do and that was their current focus.

"Theo?"

"Two life signs in that warehouse," Theo whispered, pointing to the rusty warehouse opposite them.

"And protection?"

Theo nodded, "Notice me not charm…countless protective barriers and very strong silencing charms…anti-apparition wards too."

"Break them," Draco whispered as they moved closer to the warehouse, "As quickly as you can."

"At least we know Marius is still alive in there," Daphne pointed out.

"But we have no idea what state he's in," Neville added.

"We need to get in there quickly," Draco agreed as Theo worked on breaking down the protective spells and wards around the place, "While we still have the element of surprise we take Piccard down and get him into a secure cell in the Ministry."

Neville nodded, "And someone is going to have to take Marius to St. Mungo's."

"You focus on that," Draco said, "I'll focus on getting this bastard behind bars for this."

"Deal," Neville said, the air still feeling very icy between them.

"Okay," Theo whispered, "Protective barriers are down. I left the silencing charms on so the muggles aren't any the wiser and I didn't take down the anti-apparition wards. I didn't want Piccard to get away."

"Good thinking," Draco whispered as they crept closer to the warehouses backdoor which wasn't soldered shut like the main entrance.

Draco led the way, creeping through the darkened, abandoned shell of a building towards a large hanger where Renshaw was being held by Piccard. The closer they got the louder the screams got and they were blood curdling.

At the door Draco held up his hand and motioned for them to rush in. Without waiting for any further clarification they did so and they took Francois Piccard entirely by surprise. Stunning him and binding him magically was far easier than they had anticipated.

Marius Renshaw was in a bad state however. He had clearly been tortured and was covered in blood, cuts and bruises. He also appeared to be missing a few fingers from his right hand. Neville rushed to the man and immediately began to untie him. He and Daphne worked together to transport Renshaw out of the building so they could apparate to St. Mungo's with him.

Draco and Theo focused on securing Piccard however. Once they had done so they took him to the Ministry and dumped him in a holding cell. By the time Draco had booked him in and charged him, it was very late on Friday night and all he wanted to do was go home.

He told Theo to go home with Hermione, who had patiently waited in the basement for them while they were out busting Piccard. But Draco himself couldn't go home yet because he had to fill Harry in.

He knocked on the door to his office, but got no reply so the next place he looked was the balcony where he found Harry smoking a cigarette.

"Francois Piccard is awaiting questioning," Draco said, he felt exhausted, "And Marius Renshaw is getting medical assistance at St. Mungo's."

"The cure?" Harry asked.

"In a secure briefcase of Renshaw's which I handed over to Granger," Draco replied, "It's in a safe in the depths of Gringotts to ensure that nobody can get their hands on it again."

"Good job Draco," Harry said with a smile, "Go home and get some sleep. I'll question Piccard tomorrow morning and sentence him. I'll let you know how it goes when I see you for our 'fun' double date tomorrow afternoon."

Draco managed a weak smile, "Fun," he said sarcastically as he walked out of the balcony and headed for the apparition point.

* * *

"I think this is a really bad idea," Draco muttered.

He and Michael were currently sitting on a picnic blanket at an open Quidditch pitch. Rather than being surrounded by stands in the sky, this pitch was open in a large field. All around were couples and families, sitting on blankets with picnics laid out. It was the advantage of going to a 'friendly' rather than a competitive Quidditch game.

"I think you're being a little dramatic," Michael said as he threw a grape into his mouth, "It's a nice day, you've closed your case and saved the day and we're going to watch Quidditch with some friends."

"Friends is an interesting interpretation," Draco said irritably, "Why does everyone assume that Potter and I are friends? I appreciate that he gave me a second chance when I should have gone to prison but that doesn't make me his friend."

"You sure seem like friends when you're working cases together," Michael pointed out.

"We aren't," Draco said firmly, "We work well together but you of all people should know that you can like someone as a colleague but not want to hang out with them outside of work."

"You've got to give it a shot Draco," Michael said, "Real friendship that is. I know why you have trust issues and I swear to Merlin, I don't blame you for that. But true friends are hard to come by and if you don't let anyone in, you'll never find any."

"You're my friend," Draco mumbled.

Michael smiled at the blonde man, "Yeah but I'm also your boyfriend."

"It still counts," Draco argued.

"No it doesn't," Michael remarked.

"What are you two bickering about?" Oliver's voice asked.

Draco and Michael looked up and saw Oliver, standing hand in hand with Harry.

"Nothing much," Michael said, shooting Draco an amused look.

"Fair enough," Oliver said, sitting down next to Michael on the large blanket, "Sorry we're late, it was Harry's fault."

"Actually it was Malfoy's fault," Harry said as he sat down in the only free spot, in between Draco and Oliver, "I had to finish up his case for him."

"How did that go?" Draco asked curiously.

Harry didn't look at Draco as he replied, "As you would expect. Piccard was charged with treason and sentenced to life imprisonment. It goes to trial on Wednesday."

"He'd need a damn good lawyer to get out of that one," Michael said.

Draco nodded his agreement, "He'll go down for it."

"Yes, he will," Harry said. Draco frowned at the dark haired man. Not only was Harry barely looking at him, he was being downright icy towards him. Something was wrong.

"We brought beer and pretzels by the way," Oliver said, opening up their picnic basket.

"In true Irish style," Harry said, shooting Oliver an amused look.

"Oh is it Guinness?" Michael grinned as he pulled a can out of the basket.

Draco made a face, "What the hell is Guinness?"

The others laughed and forced Draco to try it. He made a face and had to try very hard not to spit out the disgusting drink. After that he drank from his hipflask and refused to drink anything else apart from water. They made idle small talk as the game played out. Most of their conversation was based _on_ the game or the players or how they felt the latest season had gone down.

However, when the match broke for lunch (which was another thing that only happened during friendly matches) everything changed.

"I'm going to go buy some ice creams," Michael said as he got to his feet, "What do you guys fancy?"

"Anything will do," Harry replied.

"Mint for me," Draco said.

"And I'll have vanilla," Oliver finished.

"See you guys in a bit," Michael said, heading over to the large ice cream stall across the field.

"Well, I don't know about you Malfoy, but it's been four hours so I'm in desperate need of a smoke," Harry said as he got to his feet.

Draco pushed himself up too, "I second that motion."

Oliver made a face, "I'll stay here. You know that I hate the smell."

Harry nodded, "We won't be too long," he promised as he and Draco began to walk over to the designated smoking area which was set quite far away from the family area.

"So, what's going on with you today?" Draco asked conversationally while they walked.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"You've been weird with me all day Potter," Draco pointed out, "There's obviously a reason for it."

Harry frowned and jumped over the rope leading into the smoking area, "Do you really not know?"

Draco mimicked his frown and lit up a cigarette, "Would I be looking at you this blankly if I had any idea what you were on about?"

Harry glanced around to make sure that they were quite alone in their little area, "I know about what you did to Anthony Goldstein."

Draco's face fell, "Look, I know it might seem a bit extreme to you-"

"A bit?" Harry hissed, "Draco, you kidnapped and tortured the guy!"

"I didn't torture him," Draco muttered, "I just threatened to, so that I could get him to talk."

Harry glared at him, "Neville told me all about what you did. You could have killed him!"

"I knew he was bluffing," Draco said irritably as he took a step closer to Harry, "He was talking shit, he always has done."

"You didn't know for sure!" Harry snapped, "You couldn't have been 100% sure he was bluffing when you forced him to talk. You nearly killed an innocent person today!"

Draco scoffed, "I knew he was bluffing and I knew you would react like this! When you set my team up you told me that our job was to get the bad guys by any means necessary. Now either you were lying about that or you've changed your tune because that's what I did yesterday!"

Harry looked Draco right in the eye and it felt like Harry was looking into his soul, "Draco, when I set up the team I did say that you were to catch the bad guys by any means necessary but I never thought you were capable of kidnapping or torture."

Draco looked at him in disbelief, "Did you fall asleep during the whole war? That's exactly who I am, that's who I have always been. I'm a bad person Potter and no matter how hard you look for the good in me, you won't magically be able to find it."

Harry shook his head, his eyes still on Draco's, "You're not a bad person Draco. There's good in you, I've seen it. I've _always_ seen it."

Draco was silent as he tried to take in those words. Harry Potter thought he was a good person. Harry Potter had always seen the good in him. The Harry Potter who he had pretended to hate to hide how much he actually admired the man.

"I mean it," Harry said softly, as if he could read Draco's mind, "I've seen so many different sides to you since we started to work together. You might think you're a monster like Voldemort was but you aren't. I've seen that you're capable of love, I can see how much you love Teddy, and anyone who is capable of love is capable of being saved."

Draco pulled himself out of his stupor and put his mask back on, "What do you care about saving my soul Potter?"

Harry looked him directly in the eye and without hesitation said, "If didn't care, I wouldn't have stuck around this long. I don't need to be as involved with this team as I am and you know it, Draco."

Draco opened his mouth to say something. He had no idea what he was going to say, and he never found out either.

"What the hell is going on?"

Harry and Draco both jumped at the sharpness of the voice. They spun around, cigarettes all but forgotten about, and saw Oliver standing behind the rope.

"Oliver-" Harry began.

"I heard enough," Oliver said, his eyes flitting from Harry to Draco.

"It's not what you think-" Harry tried to say.

Oliver scoffed angrily, "It's exactly what I think. I'm going home and I'm changing the floo password."

"Oliver-" Harry tried again, jumping over the rope to follow the Hufflepuff.

Oliver turned and disappeared from view and with an apologetic glance back at Draco, Harry did too.

* * *

"Where did Harry and Oliver get to?" Michael asked when Draco sat down next to his boyfriend on the picnic blanket.

"They had a fight," Draco said honestly, "So they left."

"What did they fight about?" Michael asked.

Draco frowned. He knew he shouldn't tell Michael the truth because that would imply that he had feelings for Harry, which he clearly didn't.

"Me," Draco said, deciding honesty was maybe the best policy here after all, "Potter was talking to me about redemption and saving my soul. All of that typical martyr shit that he goes on about and Oliver interpreted it in a totally different way."

Michael frowned, "Why does your soul need saving?"

Draco sighed, "Potter was right about one thing. I did fuck up yesterday Michael…I…I kidnapped Goldstein and threatened to torture him if he didn't tell me where Piccard was. He told me he was under an unbreakable vow but I was fairly sure he was bluffing so I forced him to tell me anyway."

Michael's eyes widened, "So you could have killed him? It all relied on how good a judge of character you are?"

Draco nodded, unable to look Michael in the eye, "I knew he was bluffing. I'm not as good as Theo but I can do Legilimency on a weak mind and Goldstein's was so weak. It could have been a double bluff, but I didn't think it was…so I risked it."

"That was a huge risk to take," Michael said quietly.

"I know."

"It paid off this time," Michael said, forcing Draco to look at him, "But it might not pay off the next time. You have to think about it this way, if you risked something like that and it went wrong, could you live with yourself?"

Draco glanced back down at the blanket, "I know I made a mistake, okay? I won't be making it again; you can trust me on that one."

Michael nodded and looked at Draco very carefully, "I believe you," he said as he took Draco's hand.

* * *

 _Whir. Whir. Whir._

Michael rubbed his eyes and stumbled out of bed as his floo whirred loudly. He glanced at the clock and groaned, it was 3am. Who the hell was floo-ing him now?

He knelt in front of the fireplace and mumbled, "Who is it?"

A robotic voice replied, "Oliver Rivers."

Michael woke up a little at those words. He frowned, "Accept."

The green flames roared and Oliver's face materialised in the fire, "Oliver, it's 3am in the morning."

"I know, but I needed to talk to you alone," Oliver said, "Are you alone?"

"Yes," Michael said, narrowing his eyes at the Hufflepuff, "Why?"

"It's about Draco," Oliver said, "About him and Harry."

"What about them?"

"There's something more than friendship going on between them," Oliver said, "What I saw today…they weren't just arguing, there was tension there."

"Look Oliver, I get that you and Harry are fighting," Michael said irritably, "But that's no reason to poison my relationship with Draco."

"Harry and I aren't fighting," Oliver said firmly, "Harry and I are _over_. I don't want you to get hurt Michael and trust me, you will. One day soon Harry and Draco are going to realise what they mean to each other and anyone caught in the crossfire is going to get hurt."

"Yeah well, I'll take my chances," Michael said, "I'm not breaking up with the guy based on your word."

Oliver shook his head, "Be my guest but don't come grovelling back to me when I turn out to be right."

"Trust me, I won't," Michael said, ending the floo call a little too viciously and crawling back into his bed.

 **TBC :)  
**


	17. Hell Hath No Fury

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 17 - Hell Hath No Fury  
**

"Mind if I join you?"

Draco shook his head as Harry stepped out onto his patio and lit up a cigarette. He glanced at the man, "How are things with Oliver?"

"Non-existent," Harry sighed, "We broke things off on Saturday night."

"I'm sorry," Draco said honestly.

Harry shook his head, "It was a long time coming, I suppose. He wanted to change me and I didn't want to change…then there was the random jealousy and possessiveness. He thought I was cheating on him."

"With me?" Draco asked in amusement.

Harry nodded, "Can you believe that?" he snorted.

"No," Draco said, "If he interpreted our argument as that then he clearly had jealousy problems."

"Exactly," Harry sighed, "So Hermione is setting me up on dates again. You'd think she'd give me more than 24 hours' grace."

"She's Granger, of course she won't," Draco said with a smile.

Harry chuckled, "Yeah. Anyway, where are your team?"

"Theo's not coming in until lunchtime," Draco replied, "Personal reasons apparently. Eddie's still not back from sympathetic leave, Neville's helping Ron out with something upstairs and Daphne should be due in with coffee any second now."

"Speak of the devil and she shall appear," Daphne smirked, stepping out onto the patio, "One vanilla latte for you Draco, and a black coffee for our Head Auror."

Harry chuckled as he accepted the cardboard cup, "Well then if it's just the two of you I'll have to put you to some use. Do you fancy doing a little job for me?"

"That depends on whether or not it really is a little job," Draco said, eying Harry suspiciously.

"It is," Harry promised, "A Swedish criminal got smart and decided to hide out in the Swedish embassy. We can't get in there to arrest him because of political immunity so I need you to lure him out and arrest him."

"What did he do?" Daphne asked.

"Money laundering," Harry said with a wave of his hand, "It's minor stuff really."

"Sure, we'll handle it," Draco said.

"Bring me the guy when you get him," Harry said as he dropped a file onto Draco's desk, "Oh and one more thing Daphne. How do you know the devil's female?"

Daphne grinned, "Come on, anyone who gets their way that much has _got_ to be female."

Harry laughed heartily at her reply as he left the basement.

* * *

"That was easy."

"Luring a man out of any building is easy when you have me," Daphne said with a smirk.

They were walking away from Harry's office having just handed in their Swedish criminal.

Draco chuckled, "Well it won't work forever, one day you'll lose that figure of yours."

"But I will never lose my charm," Daphne said with a smirk, "Anyway, as we finished our job so quickly, I'm going to indulge myself in lunch."

"I'll get it," Draco said, "That café around the corner that you like?"

"Sounds perfect," Daphne said cheerfully.

* * *

"Draco?"

Draco turned around in surprise, laden with coffee and sandwiches, "Oh hey Granger."

Hermione smiled at him, " _You're_ doing the lunch run?"

"Daphne brought me coffee this morning," Draco explained, "I was returning the favour. By the way, have you returned my team mate yet?"

"Yes, he's just heading back in," Hermione said, "We were flat hunting."

"I heard," Draco said, shrinking the food so that he could walk and talk a little easier, "You two are moving in together?"

"We're thinking about it," Hermione said sheepishly, "I know it seems like a bad idea, but we have been dating for a few months now."

Draco shook his head, "When you know you've met the one, you know. That was what my Grandmother always said, and I have never seen Theo so commited and so happy."

Hermione smiled, "I'm glad then."

"What's this is hear about you setting Potter up on dates by the way?" Draco asked as they walked back into the Ministry.

"I know a guy who he would be interested in," Hermione said, "And I make good matches, you can trust me on that one. I set up Eddie and Dana."

"But so soon after the break up? He really liked Oliver," Draco said.

"I know," Hermione said, "Which is why he needs to get over him quickly. Otherwise he'll mope and get all depressed and weepy. He's very sensitive, you know."

"I've noticed," Draco said in amusement, walking across the atrium with her. They stepped into the elevator together and pressed the buttons for their floors.

"I'm glad that you and Harry have finally become friends you know," Hermione said with a smile, "You're good for each other."

Draco rolled his eyes, "So are you going to tell me who you're setting Potter up with?"

The empty elevator came to a stop and Hermione grinned, "It's a blind date. I'm not risking Harry finding out before he's supposed to."

Draco just chuckled and continued downwards to the basement.

* * *

"I have another little job for you."

Draco sighed, "Are little jobs all that's around at the moment?"

Harry nodded, "I'm afraid so. Luckily for us, nobody is murdering people."

"We've spent the latter half of this week doing jobs worthy of basic crime Aurors," Daphne agreed.

"That's the nature of the job sometimes," Harry reminded them.

Theo groaned, "But I'm so bored!"

Hermione shot him an exasperated look, "You complain when there is too much murder."

Harry snorted in amusement, "What are you doing down here, Hermione?"

"Having lunch and looking for you," Hermione said matter of factly, "I've set up your first post-Oliver date. It's tonight at 8pm."

"Where?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"I'm not telling you. It might give it away," Hermione said with a sly smile, "And I want it to be a secret. I'll tell you tonight and I'll also tell you what to wear."

"It sounds like an interesting date," Harry said sarcastically, "Anyway Draco, I've got a couple of odd jobs for you in this file. They need doing before the start of next week which gives you the weekend to work on them."

Draco nodded and pulled the file towards him, "Sure thing."

"Hermione, can I have a word with you?" Harry asked innocently, "I need help with Molly's birthday present."

"Sure," Hermione said, "The patio will do, won't it?"

Harry nodded. He led Hermione out onto the patio and then he shut the doors behind her.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, looking at Harry as if she could see straight through him.

"Just cancel this bloody date, please," Harry said.

Hermione crossed her arms, "No. Harry, you're lonely and I want you to be happy."

"I can be single and happy," Harry said irritably.

"Really?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow, "Because you seem miserable."

"I just broke up with Oliver! Can't you give me a week to get over him?" Harry asked in frustration.

"The best way to get over him is to get back out there, Harry," Hermione assured him.

Harry sighed, "Just tell me who the date is with."

"I'm not telling you," She said, amusement sparkling in her eyes, "And don't think that I can't see what's going on here."

"What's going on here?" Harry asked irritably. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Hermione."

"You broke up with Oliver," Hermione said pointedly, "You're unhappy and single and Draco is very happy with Michael. You're jealous and you're pissed off that you've missed your chance."

"I'm not jealous," Harry said, "I'm happy for Draco, it's you I'm pissed off at. You know I hate blind dates and you won't tell me who it's with!"

Hermione bit her lip as she smiled with amusement, "I'm your best friend, you don't mean that."

"Just tell me," Harry said.

"Nope," Hermione said cheerfully, pulling the patio door open.

* * *

The morning after Harry's date was an interesting one. Draco had convinced himself that he had no romantic feelings whatsoever towards Harry. He had convinced himself that he was happy Harry was dating again.

However, when Harry stepped into the basement with Charlie Weasley, who was dressed in black leather trousers and a white vest top. Charlie Weasley with his bulging muscles and tattooed body. Charlie Weasley with his freckled, tanned skin and playboy smile. Well when that happened, Draco gave up on telling himself that he didn't care about Harry.

He swallowed the jealousy and raised an eyebrow at the dark haired man, "So the mysterious date went well last night then?"

Colour rose in Harry's cheeks and Charlie grinned, "You could say that."

Theo groaned audibly, "I just lost 10 galleons!"

Harry looked at Theo with a frown, "What?"

"Hermione told me about this date last night," Theo explained, "And I beat her 10 galleons that it wouldn't work."

Charlie laughed loudly, "Smart girl that Hermione. Are you the new boyfriend?"

Theo nodded, "Uh, yes."

"Well, a word of advice mate," Charlie said in a kind yet also intimidating manner, "Us Weasley boys love Hermione as much as we love Ginny. If you fuck her over, we will fuck you up. Got it?"

Theo nodded, and Neville smirked at how pale the Slytherin had gone.

"Good," Charlie said cheerfully, "So Harry, I need no introduction to this guy. He did arrest me and then let me go, after all."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Aren't you risking it all by being in here?"

"I cleared the charges," Harry said with a wave of his hand, "He's fine to be here. Anyway, you know Neville and I think you've crossed passed with Daphne. This is Eddie Carmichael, I don't think you've met him and Theo is Hermione's new boyfriend as we just established."

Charlie scanned them all, "Nice to see you again Neville, and you Daph."

Neville and Daphne just nodded as Charlie threw on a leather jacket and walked out of the basement like he owned the place. Draco walked over to his desk and began to busy himself with paperwork.

"So I have a case for you," Harry said, breaking the silence.

It wasn't going to be that easy though.

"You went on a date with Charlie Weasley?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"You brought him back _here_?" Daphne asked sceptically.

"It actually worked out," Theo grumbled.

Eddie grinned, "Well this is an interesting first day back!"

Harry rolled his eyes, "I've known Charlie forever. Is it really that much of a surprise?"

"Yes," Daphne said, "He's a criminal."

"Was a criminal, I cleared him of all charges," Harry said, "Just like I did for you guys."

"So are you two together now?" Neville asked, looking at Harry in amusement.

Harry shrugged, "Not exactly. I just broke up with Oliver okay? Cut me some slack and remember that whole thing Susan said about keeping our private lies private. I have a case for you, do you want it or not?"

"We want it," Draco said, taking the case file from Harry and refusing to look at him.

Harry noticed and took a step back awkwardly, "Good luck with it and check in with me if you have any updates."

Draco nodded, "We will."

Without any further ado, Harry left the basement in a hurry. The team didn't want to comment on Draco's sudden surliness so instead they focused on their new case.

"Who's our victim?" Neville asked.

"We don't have one," Draco said, frowning down at the case file, "Or at least, we don't have a dead one. This isn't a murder case."

"A kidnapping?" Daphne asked.

"No," Draco replied, "An attempted murder."

Neville raised an eyebrow, "Where's our attempted murder victim?"

"In a Ministry safe house," Draco said, the frown on his face becoming a grimace.

"What's wrong?" Theo asked.

"Our attempted murder victim," Draco sighed, "She's Tracey Davis."

Daphne choked on her coffee, and Neville grinned, "As in your ex-girlfriend?"

"The one who turned you in?" Eddie asked in amusement.

"The one you nearly proposed to," Daphne said with a sly smile, "But whose ring you pawned for an antique broomstick?"

Draco couldn't glare at them all, so he just sat down heavily in his chair, "Yes, _that_ Tracey Davis."

Theo smirked wickedly, "Let me get this straight...you have to protect your ex-girlfriend, find the person who tried to kill her _and_ stop that person from killing her?"

"That's exactly what I have to do," Draco said, "But as I employ all of you, I won't be doing it alone. So Theo, get your white board ready."

Theo raised his wand and wiped the board clean of their last case, "Ready boss," he joked.

Draco smiled slightly, "Our 'murder' victim is Tracey Davis, 25 years old, former Slytherin, former model and current Miss Wizarding Britain. She is a rich heiress who will one day inherit her Father's three estates and two business's. She has no living siblings or children therefore we need to find out who that fortune would go to if she were to die."

With a few waves of Theo's wand this information had been abbreviated and transferred onto the whiteboard. Draco pulled a photograph of Tracey out of the file and stuck it onto the board before continuing to read.

"She came to the Aurors late last night after being attacked in her London penthouse. She had injuries to her face and head conducive to a violent physical attack and claimed that she was attacked by a man in a mask with a beaters bat. After receiving medical attention she was placed in a safe house."

"How did she get away?" Daphne asked.

"Her house isn't warded," Draco replied, "Which is surprising given her status. She managed to apparate away from her would be killer."

"Has someone reviewed the memory of the attack?" Theo asked.

"No," Draco said, "Which is why you and Eddie are going to do just that. Here's the memory that the basic Aurors extracted."

"Let's hope they didn't manage to fuck that up," Eddie said as he and Theo headed over to the corner of the room where they did most of their work.

"Tracey's Father is her only living relative," Draco continued, "So we need to talk to him about where the fortune would go in the event of his and Tracey's death. Due to my...personal involvement in this case I'm going to leave that to you two."

Neville and Daphne nodded, they had expected as much. Neville was even smirking in amusement.

"What are you going to do then?" Daphne asked.

Draco looked anxious as he said, "I'm going to go and see Tracey, _someone_ has to question her about what happened."

Neville barked out a loud laugh, pulling on his Auror robes as he did so, "What are you going to do if she asks if you're seeing anyone?"

"Tell her the truth," Draco said honestly.

Daphne smirked as she too pulled on her Auror robes, "And that's going to go down _great_ with her. Well Tracey, since you ratted me out I basically realised that I was gay and now I'm dating Michael Corner."

Draco glared at her, "Don't make this worse than it is. Go and talk to Tracey's Father, you know where he lives don't you?"

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Please, I've been going to sleepovers at Davis House since I was 5 years old. Of course I know where it is."

"Get a move on then," Draco said, grabbing his own Auror robes, "And make sure you're back here for midday. We'll regroup and see where we are, hopefully nearly done."

Neville smirked at Daphne, "So we should work really slowly on this one then, so that Draco can spend quality time with his ex."

"That's exactly what we should do," Daphne teased, shooting Draco a grin as she and Neville left the basement.

* * *

Draco felt quite frightened when he arrived on the doorstep of the safe house where Tracey was staying. He raised his hand to knock, and was grateful when it was an Auror who answered the door rather than the woman herself.

"Auror Malfoy," Draco said, holding up his badge, "I'm working Miss. Davis's case."

The young Auror on duty nodded and let Draco in. Once he had shut the door behind him there was a soft whoosh as all of the protective charms sprung back up.

"Miss Davis is in the bedroom," The young Auror said.

Draco rolled his eyes, _typical,_ he thought to himself. He walked towards the door that the Auror had pointed to and rapped hard with his knuckles.

"Come in!" Tracey's voice called.

Draco bit his tongue and opened the door. He took a step into the bedroom and immediately saw Tracey lounging on the bed in nothing but her underwear. That didn't particularly surprise him, but his presence in the safe house clearly surprised her.

"Draco," Tracey hissed, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Draco reached into his back pocket and pulled out his badge. He tossed it at her as he said, "Auror Malfoy, Class II, Unit X, Team 0. I'm working on your case."

"Auror?" Tracey said furiously, "You should be in Azkaban not running around working as an Auror!"

"I _should_ be in Azkaban, no thanks to you," Draco said dryly, "But I took a deal."

"A deal that made you a fucking Auror?" Tracey fumed, throwing his badge back at him.

"I promised the justice department 10 years of service rather than 10 years in Azkaban," Draco said smoothly, "Someone thought I was too valuable an asset to waste my life in prison."

Tracey scoffed, "Well someone has more faith in you than I ever did. Are you seriously assigned to my case?"

"Yes, and trust me, I don't like it any more than you do," Draco said honestly.

Tracey raised an eyebrow at him, "Not still pining after me then?"

"Definitely not," Draco said, maybe a little too firmly.

"Are you sure?" Tracey asked, her eyes flashing mischievously, "Because I'm already starting to go mad in this safe house and as you're here-"

"Tracey," Draco said sharply, "I won't sleep with you for two reasons. The first is; you ratted me out to the Ministry in exchange for money that you really didn't need and for a really petty reason. Secondly; I'm with someone else."

Tracey narrowed her eyes at him, "A petty reason? You were going to propose to me and you pawned my ring for a broom!"

"I pawned the ring because I changed my mind about marrying you!" Draco snapped, "I was only doing it to get a bit of your family's fortune and I decided that you were too nice a person to be fucked over like that."

Tracey looked sceptical, "You didn't feel anything for me at all?"

"I enjoyed your company," Draco admitted guiltily, "But I don't think I ever loved you. It had nothing to do with you, I just don't think I have the capacity for love after the way that I grew up."

"So you don't love the person you're with now?" Tracey quipped.

"How should I know? I've barely been dating him," Draco replied.

"Him?" Tracey asked in disbelief, "So you're gay now too?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "No, I always...dabbled. I just leant towards women rather than men when I was working in the illegal trade. I have a little more freedom now."

"Fantastic," Tracey said sarcastically, "I have no freedom. I'm stuck in this damn safe house with you and that puny little junior Auror who has too much morals to have a little bit of fun with me!"

"No wonder you and Daphne get on," Draco muttered under his breath, "And you can't leave this safe house, not until we find the person who attacked you."

"Well find him then!" Tracey snapped, "Before I go mad with boredom."

"That's why I'm here," Draco said, sitting down on a chair near the bed, "I need to ask you some questions."

"Like?"

"Like do you have a boyfriend?" Draco asked.

"Sure you aren't jealous?" Tracey smirked.

"I'm asking because in 80% of murder cases the boyfriend or husband is the killer," Draco said dryly.

Tracey scoffed, "Well Wayne would never hurt me so you are looking in the wrong place."

"Wayne?"

"Wayne Hopkins," Tracey replied, "He's a musician you know, our flat is littered with all of his weird instruments. He and his two brothers have this amazing band-"

"The Three Brothers, I know," Draco cut in, "They're a bit punky for me, Harry likes them."

"Harry Potter?" Tracey asked, looking at him suspiciously, "Your life-long nemesis?"

"He was never my nemesis," Draco scoffed, "We were schoolboys. Schoolboys don't have arch-enemies, and he's my boss now."

Tracey laughed loudly, "Harry Potter is your boss, you're an Auror and you're fucking a man. What next, is it a Weasley?"

Draco made a face, "As if I would sink that low," he said. But his mind went to Harry and the jealousy surged once more within him.

"So who is he then?" Tracey asked, "Your boyfriend?"

"It's none of your business," Draco said sharply, "Now, has anything-"

"Come on Draco, who is he?"

"Michael Corner," Draco snapped, "Are you happy now?"

Tracey leant back against the headboard, "Are you sure I'm not dead? Did I get poisoned? Am I delirious? Because it _looks_ like the guy I dated for 3 years, who I thought was totally straight, has become a good guy who fucks little Ravenclaw boys and plays pool with Harry Potter."

"I'd appreciate if you stopped insulting Michael, and Harry doesn't like pool," Draco said smoothly, "He prefers cigarettes and alcohol."

"My kind of guy," Tracey said with appreciation.

"He's also gay," Draco said.

Tracey rolled her eyes, "Figures. You're not fucking him too are you?"

"No," Draco said irritably, "Now would you please answer my questions so I can catch your murderer?"

Tracey sighed and crossed her arms, "Fine."

"Has anything strange happened to you in the past few weeks?" Draco asked.

Tracey shook her head, "No."

"Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt you?" Draco asked.

Tracey frowned, "I don't know...I think I pissed off a lot of people last month when I did a Niffler hide photoshoot but I wouldn't get murdered for that, would I?"

"People have killed for less," Draco quipped, "Anything else?"

"Ginny Weasley can't stand me," Tracey said, smirking at her ex, "I beat her to Miss Wizarding Britain and she was _not_ happy."

"I doubt she's capable of murder, but we'll question her anyway," Draco said, already dreading _that_ interview.

"Any more _probing_ questions?" Tracey asked suggestively.

"Just the one big one," Draco admitted, "What happens to your Father's estates, business's and finances if you and he were both to die suddenly?"

Tracey shrugged, "I have no idea. My Father deals with all of the business and finance things. You'll have to ask him about that, and he is _not_ pleased with you."

Draco got to his feet with a sly smile, "Which is why I have two of my team members questioning him while I'm here."

"Oh you have minions now?" Tracey cooed, "How sweet!"

Draco ignored her and pulled open the bedroom door, "I'll be in touch if I have any more questions. Until I catch this guy, stay put."

He left the bedroom leaving a sour faced Tracey Davis behind him, it felt incredibly satisfying.

* * *

"Hello Miss Greengrass," The house elf on the doorstep of Byron Davis's home said brightly, "What can Missy be doing for you?"

Daphne smiled at the old elf, "Hi Missy. I'm with the Auror department and this is my colleague, Auror Neville Longbottom. We have to talk to Master Davis about his daughter."

"Oh no," Missy said, "What has Miss Tracey done this time?"

"Nothing," Daphne replied gently, "But someone tried to hurt her and we need to find out who that was. Can we come in?"

Missy nodded and opened the door wider so that they could enter the house. Neville tried not to stare too much around the grand entrance hall that they had stepped out into.

"Sit in the drawing room please," Missy said politely, "Missy will be getting Master Davis now."

Daphne smiled at the elf, "Thank you Missy," she said kindly.

The elf disappeared so Daphne led Neville into the drawing room of Davis House. It was very warm and open, unlike the drawing rooms in houses like Malfoy Manor. They sat down on a large, comfortable sofa while awaiting the master of the house.

"You're very nice to house elves," Neville noted.

Daphne shot him an amused look, "Well they deserve to be treated kindly, don't you think? They devote their lives to serving their masters, the least those masters can do is treat them kindly."

Neville smiled fondly, "That's a modern outlook."

Daphne chuckled, "Don't get me wrong, I'm no Hermione Granger. I'll never be a member of spew."

"Never call it spew in front of her if you value your life," Neville warned Daphne as Byron Davis entered the drawing room.

"Daphne," Byron said in surprise, "I thought I heard your dulcet tones. What brings you to my humble abode?"

Neville had narrowed his eyes slightly at the exchange. Byron clearly knew Daphne, and Byron was a very handsome man for his age. He was clearly in his late 40's but he had aged well. He had sleek silver hair, and a mischievous, boyish smile. His face was very defined, and he was in good shape. Not to mention the designer robes that he was adorned in.

"I'm actually working with the Auror department these days," Daphne said honestly, "This is my colleague, Auror Longbottom."

"Neville Longbottom," Byron said, casting his gaze over to Neville, "I knew your parents. They were a few years below me at Hogwarts but we were in the same house."

"You were in Ravenclaw?" Neville asked, surprise lacing his voice.

Byron clearly detected this, he smiled, "I was in Ravenclaw, yes. Most of my children took after their late Mother. My wife Philippa was in Slytherin."

"Apart from Toby," Daphne said, "He was in Hufflepuff."

"And look where that got us," Byron sighed, "I lost both of my sons to the war. Toby fought for the friends he had made at Hogwarts, that wretched Weasley boy and the Black girl."

Neville frowned slightly, "That Black girl being Nymphadora Tonks?"

"That's the one," Byron remembered.

"Her parents lost as much as you," Neville said darkly, "If not more. She left a son behind, he wasn't even a year old."

"I am very sorry about that," Byron said, his eyes darkening, "I truly am. I only wish my eldest child had not been brought into it."

"What happened to your other son?" Neville asked.

"Thomas joined the Death Eaters," Daphne replied, "He was killed in the final battle."

"Tracey is my youngest and only surviving child," Byron sighed, "And she's a girl, a girl with no mind for business whatsoever."

"So what would happen to your businesses and your estate if you died, Byron?" Daphne asked.

Byron leant back in his armchair, "That is a very complicated question my dear," he said, surveying Daphne, "But I will try and answer it as best as I can. My estates would pass on to Tracey, as would all of my assets in Gringotts. However, my businesses would not become her sole responsibility. The side businesses would go to Tracey. The big one though, Davis Floo Ltd, is a more complicated issue. My great great Grandfather _did_ invent floo powder after all so it's important to keep that one as close to the family as possible. It's supposed to pass to Tracey's Husband, if she ever marries."

"What if she didn't marry?" Neville asked, "What would happen to it?"

"If she was unmarried and had no children, legitimate or otherwise, it would pass on to her partner. As long as they were engaged mind you," Byron said thoughtfully, "And if she had no partner, it would become liquidised."

"Is Tracey engaged?" Daphne asked warily.

"Oh, yes," Byron smiled, "A very recent development. Wayne proposed only yesterday."

"That's ironic," Neville said sarcastically, "Considering that someone also tried to kill Tracey yesterday."

Byron's eyes widened, "That's why you're here? Is Tracey alright?"

"She's fine," Daphne said quickly, "She's in a safe house at the moment so unfortunately you won't be able to see her until we have caught the person responsible. Tell me everything that you know about her fiancé, Wayne."

Byron's forehead had knitted into a frown, "Wayne Hopkins is his name. They were at school together, but he was in a different house. I think Tracey said that he had been a Hufflepuff. He is the lead singer of a band called "The Three Brothers" that Tracey seems to like. They bonded over the fact that they were both the youngest of three children. He seemed like a lovely young man, you don't really think he would try and hurt Tracey, do you?"

"With all due respect Mr. Davis," Neville said, "With a business the size of yours at stake, I think anyone would be capable of murdering someone to get it. Thank you for all of your help, and we will keep you informed of any developments in the case."

Byron gave them both a nod, "Thank you very much. It was lovely to see you again Daphne."

Daphne smiled at him, "You too Uncle Byron," she said politely, noticing the look of surprise in Neville's eyes as they were led out of the house by Missy.

"Uncle Byron?" Neville said with a raised eyebrow as they walked down the garden path.

"My Mother's maiden name is Davis," Daphne smirked, "Therefore Byron is my Uncle and Tracey is my cousin. You thought I had slept with him, didn't you?"

"No," Neville said honestly, "I just sensed that you knew each other and-"

"Jumped to the worst possible conclusion," Daphne finished smugly, "You need to learn to be more perceptive Neville."

Neville rolled his eyes as they exited the gates at the bottom of the garden, "That has never been my strong point, and you know it," he said, spinning on his heel and disappearing from sight.

* * *

"I've brought you coffee and doughnuts!" Draco shouted over the noise in the basement. He dropped a large box onto the table and pulled cardboard coffee cups out of thin air, "In exchange, I want information!"

"I've got information for you," Theo said, grabbing a doughnut before the good ones could get taken, "That memory was really unhelpful. The dude was wearing a mask."

Eddie rolled his eyes and snatched a doughnut, "What Theo means to say is that we have established that Tracey's attacker was a man, measuring about 6 foot and weighing about 210 pounds."

"That is marginally helpful," Draco agreed, making sure he got a pink doughnut from the box, "If we had a suspect to cross reference with…Hair colour?"

"Dark blonde," Theo replied.

"Did you see his eyes?" Draco asked.

Eddie nodded, "Dark green."

"Excellent, build up a profile of his face and stature from what you _do_ know. You should still be able to make out his face shape with a mask, you just need to look more closely," Draco said, waving his doughnut as he spoke, "I want this solved within the day, I can't stand being around Tracey for any longer than that."

"Did she tell you anything helpful?" Neville asked.

"She had no idea about what would happen to her Father's businesses, estates or finances," Draco said with a roll of his eyes, "But she did mention that she has a fiancé. She's adamant that he won't hurt her, she thinks Ginny Weasley sent someone to assassinate her."

Neville snorted, "Gin? What gives her that idea?"

"Apparently Tracey beat her to Miss Wizarding Britain," Draco said offhandedly, "Unfortunately we need to question Ginny Weasley even if we're sure it wasn't her. Protocol and all of that bullshit, it will keep Potter off of our backs. Did you two get anything out of Byron Davis?"

"We did," Daphne said triumphantly, "And I must say it doesn't look good for Wayne Hopkins. All of the estates and everything financial would go straight to Tracey in the event of Byron's death. _But_ the big company was always supposed to go to Tracey's partner."

"Only if she's married to him," Draco said through a mouthful of doughnut, "That's why I nearly married her."

"For a company?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"For one of the most successful companies in wizarding Britain," Draco corrected Neville, swallowing his mouthful and sipping his coffee, "But I couldn't go through with it in the end, I'm not that much of an arsehole."

"You could've fooled me," Neville remarked.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Anyway, it doesn't have to be her Husband. If she wasn't married the company would go to her partner, so long as they were engaged."

"Well it's not the boyfriend then, is it?" Draco said, "Why kill her if he was going to get the company the moment her Father died anyway?"

"Because we had a look over the financial stuff when we got back here," Neville said, "And there's a catch. If Tracey and her Father were both to die suddenly the owner of the company would get the estates and finances."

"So if the boyfriend had managed to kill Tracey, he would have staged an accident for her Father and gotten rich very quickly," Draco said slowly, "Okay, arrest Wayne Hopkins. If I'm not back when you get back here, interrogate him yourself but make sure you take the lead Neville."

Neville nodded, "We will, where are you going?"

Draco rolled his eyes as he stepped onto the basement stairs, "To have a little chat with Harry Potter's ex-girlfriend."

* * *

Draco had gotten far less strange looks than he had expected walking through Ginny's workplace. After traipsing across the Quidditch pitch he had found her in the changing rooms of the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch ground.

Ginny raised her head to look at him and smirked, "Do you often walk in on women getting changed, Malfoy?"

"I try not to make a habit of it," Draco replied, he was just grateful that she was already dressed. She was putting padding on for the practice that was due to begin in 15 minutes.

"Is there a reason why you're barging in on me in the changing rooms," Ginny asked, "I didn't think our date went that well."

"You punched me," Draco reminded her.

"I know," Ginny said with a falsely sweet smile, "Why are you here?"

Draco decided that the blunt truth was the best option, "I need to question you about an attempted murder."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "Who's attempted murder?"

"Tracey Davis," Draco replied.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Well I didn't do it. But when you find the guy who did, let me know so I can punch him in the face for fucking it up."

Draco raised his eyebrow, "You really shouldn't say things like that to an Auror you know," he said as he handed her his badge.

Ginny scanned it over and looked up at him in disbelief, "What imbecile made you an Auror, Malfoy?"

"Your ex-boyfriend actually," Draco smirked.

"Which one?" Ginny asked calmly.

"The famous one," Draco replied smoothly.

"They've all been famous," Ginny said, smirking at the blonde man, "So which one?"

"The _most_ famous one," Draco said pointedly.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Harry then, well that figures. He always did have a heroic complex and a soft spot for arseholes like you."

"Thank you," Draco said sarcastically, "But seriously, I need to know what you were doing between the hours of 10pm and 11pm last night?"

Ginny shot him an amused look, "It's more a matter of _who_. Speak to Viktor Krum if you want to verify my alibi, we met in a bar last night. By 10.30 we were back at my London flat."

Draco jotted this down on a notepad, "You do have reason to want Tracey dead."

"I don't like her, but that doesn't mean I want her dead," Ginny said matter of factly, "If I killed everyone that I didn't like I would have to build a graveyard in my back garden."

"You are just charming," Draco said sarcastically, "How Potter lasted for years with you I will never know."

"Neither do I, considering he was lusting after men for all of those years," Ginny said smoothly, "And I can tell that you know from the way you talk about him. He's clearly less closeted than he was when I was with him."

"He's still pretty closeted," Draco said honestly, "And from what he's told me, he did love you and he does feel guilty about the way things turned out."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "So he's been spilling out his heart to you then? Are you together?"

"No," Draco said irritably, "Why does everyone think that?"

"Probably because he's been having wet dreams about you since he was 16 years old," Ginny smirked, "I'm surprised he's managed to restrain himself so well."

"Yes well, I'm with someone else anyway," Draco said stiffly, "And so is he…"

Ginny narrowed her eyes at him, "With how awkward you're acting I guess that means it's someone I know and if it's not Harry then…oh Merlin, are you the guy Michael gushes on about?"

Draco's cheeks flushed, "How did you-"

"You're transparent and I'm perceptive," Ginny retorted, "I thought he had better taste than that."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Charming as always, Weaslette."

"How long have you two been together?" Ginny asked conversationally.

"Just over a month," Draco replied.

Ginny hummed thoughtfully, "Well who'd have thought? Whose Harry dating anyway? I heard from Hermione that he broke up with Oliver."

"He did," Draco said, "Or rather Oliver broke up with him. I don't know if he's dating this guy to be honest. It seems more like a hook-up."

"Oh Godric," Ginny groaned, "He's fucking my brother, isn't he?"

Draco had to hide a smile because he actually quite liked Ginny Weasley, "Yeah."

She shook her head, "I thought Harry knew better than that. By my reckoning that makes him Charlie's 22nd conquest this year."

"18th, according to Harry," Draco corrected her.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "18th, 22nd, what difference does it make?"

Draco tried not to laugh, "I don't have any more questions for you, but until this is solved-"

"Don't leave the country, yeah I know the protocol," Ginny said with a wave of her hand, "I dated an Auror for long enough."

"I mean it though," Draco said, walking towards the door and grabbing the handle, "Don't leave the country!"

* * *

Neville and Daphne were sitting behind a desk in an interrogation room together. It was Daphne's first interrogation and Neville had warned her that there were surveillance charms so she couldn't use her 'usual' methods of persuasion.

Sitting across from them was Wayne Hopkins. He looked harmless enough, tall and handsome with a square jaw and dark green eyes. He kept pushing his dirty blonde hair out of his face anxiously however as he was stared at.

"So," Neville said after a moment of silence, "You are Wayne Hopkins."

Wayne nodded, glancing warily at the file that Neville had just flipped open, "Yes, I am."

"And you are here because you've been arrested for the attempted murder of your fiancé, Tracey Davis," Daphne added.

Wayne got livelier now that the reason for his arrest had been brought up again. He had been a nightmare to arrest with all of his shouting and attempts to run away from them.

"I didn't try and kill her! Why would I do that right after proposing to her? I loved her, I was going to spend my life with her!" Wayne exclaimed.

"You loved her, yet you never came to the Aurors to ask where she was," Neville said, "Almost as if you knew she was dead or in a safe house..."

"I didn't come because I didn't know where she was and I knew if something had happened to her you would have blamed me," Wayne retorted, "It's always the boyfriend that gets the blame!"

"That's because the partner is normally the person who did it," Daphne said calmly, "And there is a lot of evidence to say that it was you who attacked Tracey."

"What evidence?" Wayne scoffed.

"You don't have an alibi for the time that she was killed," Neville began, "And you match the profile of Tracey's attacker. He was around 6 foot, weighed about 210 pounds, he had dark green eyes and dirty blonde hair."

Wayne swallowed, "Yeah but there's loads of people who look like that. It doesn't make it me!"

Daphne stared Wayne right in the eye, "That's true, but there are not a lot of people set to inherit estates, finances and one of the most successful companies in wizarding Britain if Tracey were to die suddenly. You on the other hand would have gotten rich overnight, and all it was going to take was a few blows to your fiancé's head and a staged accident for her Father."

"We have enough evidence to forcibly take your memories," Neville said, "So you might as well confess now while you can still get a deal."

"What kind of deal?" Wayne asked, far too quickly.

"A good one," Neville said simply, "Did you try and kill Tracey?"

Wayne hovered for a moment before finally saying, "Fine, yeah I did try. Her Father told me about the money and the businesses and I'm really broke so I chanced it alright? My band need instruments and Tracey has way more money than she needs anyway."

"Write it down," Daphne said, sliding the confession across the table.

Wayne sighed, "Am I going to go to prison for this?"

"Probably," Neville said casually, "Write that confession down Wayne."

* * *

"Well, this is an early cigarette for you," Harry remarked.

Draco rolled his eyes, "For various reasons, I need it."

Harry shut the balcony door and lit up his own cigarette, "The case?"

"Yes," Draco said, glaring at Harry, "And thank you for giving me a case concerning my ex-girlfriend. I had _great_ fun working on it."

"But you solved it quickly," Harry pointed out, "Which was what I wanted."

"You just wanted to fuck with me," Draco said, "Because I've clearly pissed you off somehow."

"I wasn't fucking with you," Harry said honestly, "Maybe I do have a slight problem with you at the moment but it's not your fault."

"That doesn't even make any sense."

"You're happy with Michael," Harry said, glancing sideways at the blonde, "And I'm happy that you are but it also sucks because you're my friend and I spend a lot of time with you. Seeing you so happy and loved up while I'm miserable…it sucks."

"I thought you and Charlie…" Draco trailed off.

Harry shook his head, "Charlie is my friend…but I'm not entirely sure I want to date him."

"I think that's a good choice," Draco said, "Because I know his type. They don't date, they sleep with people until they get bored of them. Then they throw them away like a piece of rubbish. He'll chew you up and spit you out, and as your friend I feel like I need to tell you that."

"I already know because he was perfectly open with me about the way that he is," Harry said icily "I know Charlie and I know his type. But you made it clear the other day that we're barely friends so I highly doubt you want to protect me."

Draco glanced down at his feet, "You are my friend, I don't go out for drinks and stargaze with people that I don't like Potter. I thought you knew that."

"I did," Harry said honestly, "Until you started dating Michael. Now you barely talk to me and when you do it's to talk about him. You're forgetting your friends."

"You started this, with Oliver," Draco reminded Harry, "You were never around. I could never talk to you alone so don't try and put the blame on me."

Harry sighed as he felt a headache coming on, "Can we agree to not talk about our personal lives and just be friends who work together?"

Draco nodded curtly, "That's the best idea you've had in weeks."

Harry tore his eyes away from Draco's and asked, "What's going to happen with the guy who tried to murder Tracey?"

"He's going to jail," Draco replied, "For a year if he's unlucky. If he is lucky he'll get out after 6 months and have to do community service. He's basically a celebrity, he gets the light treatment."

"Does Tracey know yet?" Harry asked curiously.

"No," Draco replied, "And my lovely team members have all clocked off early which means I'll have to tell her. Hence why I'm on my 3rd cigarette of the hour."

"It can't be that bad," Harry said, aware they were already breaking the rule about not talking about their personal lives.

"She's my Ginny," Draco said, giving Harry a pointed look.

"Ah," Harry said.

"Speaking of your ex," Draco added, "I had to question her today."

"You had to question Ginny?" Harry asked in surprise.

Draco nodded and blew out a ring of smoke, "Tracey thought she had sent an assassin to kill her because she beat Ginny to Miss Wizarding Britain. She was _just_ charming, how you lasted so long with her astounds me."

Harry sighed, "Yes well, it was a farce of a relationship if I'm honest. Did she...did she say anything...embarrassing about me?"

Draco shook his head as he put out his cigarette, "No, not really," he smirked wickedly and grabbed the door handle, "Oh! Unless you count the fact you've been having wet dreams about me since you were 16 as embarrassing."

Harry's face simultaneously paled while his cheeks turned bright red. Draco grinned broadly and felt very satisfied as he left the balcony and left Harry standing behind him looking utterly humiliated.

* * *

When Draco didn't get an answer at the door of the safe house he let himself in through the wards. When he saw that the house was in darkness apart from a slither of light coming from underneath the bedroom door he walked straight towards it and pulled the door open without knocking.

He was torn between rolling his eyes and laughing at the sight he was met with inside the room. Tracey had gotten her way with the junior Auror who had been assigned to babysit her. In fact she was _having_ her way with him when he opened the door.

"Oh!" The junior Auror said in a very high pitched voice as he covered himself up with any form of bedding that he could find, "I'm very sorry sir, my hand was forced and I...I...please don't report me to Auror Boot sir."

Draco smirked at the boy, there was no other word for it really, "Junior Auror Wolpert isn't it?"

The boy nodded.

Draco shook his head in amusement and waved his wand, instantly clothing the humiliated Auror, "I won't report you, I fully understand the seductive ways of this woman and have fallen victim to them myself. You can vacate the premises, I'm escorting Miss Davis back to her home."

The Junior Auror nodded. He didn't need to be told twice, he rushed from the room with cheeks as red as a freshly plucked cherry.

Draco looked down at Tracey who had at the very least pulled the duvet over herself for the sake of modesty, "I've seen it all before love."

Tracey rolled her eyes, "What's put you in such a good mood?"

"I caught the man who tried to kill you," Draco said, "So get dressed, I'm taking you home."

Tracey narrowed her eyes at him and began to get dressed under the covers, "Who was it then?"

Draco probably took far too much pleasure in saying, "It was a certain musician by the name of Wayne Hopkins."

Tracey stared at Draco in disbelief, "You're lying."

"No, I'm not," Draco said, "He confessed."

Tracey got to her feet and crossed her arms. The sight might have looked intimidating if it weren't for the fact she was only in her underwear, "Wayne would never do that to me!"

"Wayne did do that to you sweetheart," Draco said sarcastically, "And you need to be more educated on what happens to your Daddy's things when he dies. Your Husband or partner, so long as that partner is your fiancé, gets his biggest company upon his death."

"Not me?" Tracey asked in disbelief.

"He doesn't think _you_ have the capability to manage it," Draco said, _Merlin, he was enjoying this too much._

"Well he's damn wrong!" Tracey exclaimed, pulling her jeans on, "And I'll prove that to him too!"

Draco smirked, "I'm sure that you will. So Wayne, he was going to kill you and then stage an accident for your Father. He would inherit the company and then with you dead, the owner of the company gets the estates and all of the assets in Gringotts."

"That selfish bastard!" Tracey exclaimed, "He's worse than you!"

"That bad?" Draco asked smoothly.

"At least you didn't have the balls to go through with it!" Tracey fumed, "But that's not surprising. You've never had balls, are you the women in your little gay relationship?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "You are as charming as ever," he muttered.

Tracey smirked and pulled on her t-shirt, "Aren't I always? Do you think we can stop at a bar on the way home? This has been the worst day ever."

"You stayed in bed all day while _I_ found your would-be killer, and then you fucked a baby Auror," Draco said distastefully, gripping her arm and steering her out of the house.

"I didn't actually get to finish because you interrupted," Tracey reminded him, "And he's not a baby, he was 21."

Draco shook his head in exasperation, "He was Nigel Wolpert for the love of Salazar."

"I was bored," Tracey whined.

"Well you won't be bored for much longer," Draco said once he had manoeuvred her onto the doorstep, "Because you get to go home and face your Father who will no doubt bemoan your terrible life choices and force you into an arranged marriage."

"That might not be a bad idea," Tracey said thoughtfully, "I wonder who's still available. Theo was always a hot-"

"Not available," Draco said simply.

"Blaise-"

"Dead."

"Oh god does that mean..." Tracey trailed off.

Draco grinned wickedly at her, "Yes that means exactly what you think it does, Mrs Goyle."

"No! Don't take me home! Draco don't you fucking dare!"

Without bothering to hide his smirk, Draco grabbed her arm, spun on his heel and disappeared from view.

 **TBC :)  
**


	18. Deja Vu

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 18 - Deja Vu  
**

"So…why Michael Corner?"

"He's different," Draco replied slowly, "He's one of the few people I've met who said he was willing to give me a chance and actually meant it."

Hermione frowned at the blonde man who was sitting opposite her in the Three Broomsticks nursing a firewhiskey, "Harry meant it."

Draco swallowed at that comment, "That's different."

"How?" Hermione quipped.

"Because he's my friend and Michael is my…boyfriend," Draco said.

"You had a hard time getting the word boyfriend out there," Hermione said with a knowing look.

"I want to love him Granger," Draco admitted, "Does that sound pathetic? If I could just fall in love with him then everything would be okay. I could have a normal life with a nice guy and there would be no complications. Is that what you want to hear?"

"No," Hermione said, reaching across the table and taking Draco's hand, "The reason I asked you to come out tonight was because I can see how you feel about Harry. I can see the conflict in your head right now and I think deep down you know what you have to do."

"Break up with Michael," Draco said quietly.

"He's a nice guy and you're going to hurt him all the more if you let this drag out," Hermione said gently, "You want to love Michael, but you can't make yourself fall in love with him and you know it."

Draco nodded numbly.

"You need to admit the truth to yourself Draco," Hermione said, squeezing his hand, "You know how you feel about Harry. Stop pretending, stop squashing all of those feelings down. Be honest with yourself and be honest with Michael."

"I hate how right you are," Draco muttered, downing the rest of his firewhiskey.

Hermione chuckled, "Trust me, Harry does too but my advice almost always turns out to be right."

"Even if I don't want it to be," Draco sighed.

Hermione nodded sympathetically, "Doing the right thing sucks sometimes. Welcome to adult life."

Draco actually smiled at her comment as he looked up at her. He squeezed her hand and said, "Thank you Granger…for everything."

* * *

"Why were you drinking with Draco last night?" Harry asked as he stepped into Hermione's office.

Hermione looked up at him like a deer caught in the headlights, "Are you having me followed?"

"No," Harry scoffed, "But he has a tattoo burned onto his skin that lets me know if he's in any kind of establishment after 11pm and he was with you at the Three Broomsticks until well after midnight last night."

Hermione glared at him, "And how is that any of your business?"

Harry shrugged, "I just wondered what you two were talking about. I mean I didn't even know you were friends."

"We were talking about Michael," Hermione said honestly, "He needed some advice and I gave him it. We've been getting closer ever since Theo and I got together. Is that a problem?"

Harry frowned, "Well you're my best friend. You aren't supposed to gossip with Malfoy."

Hermione smiled slightly, "As sweet as that is Harry, that's not why you're mad. You really need to admit the truth to yourself."

"What truth?" Harry asked, feigning innocence.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "You have never admitted that you feel anything other than hatred or friendship for Draco! I've teased, but you have never actually come to me and talked to me!"

"I don't like him!" Harry fumed, "I don't know why everybody thinks I do! Why does everyone think we're together? It makes no sense, Hermione! I'm a Potter and he's a Malfoy. Can you imagine Molly's face? Can you imagine what Ron would say?"

"Harry!" Hermione snapped. She pushed herself to her feet and advanced on him, "You are being a complete coward and you are in denial! You like him but you're so afraid of what Molly or Ron will think that you can't even admit it to yourself!"

A fire was burning in Harry's eyes, "I am not a coward!"

"Admit it then!" Hermione shrieked, "It has been years Harry, just admit it!"

"Fine!" Harry snapped with a slightly manic look in his eyes, "I like him! I like Draco Malfoy. Is that what you want to hear? Do you want to know that I realised I was gay because of how obsessed with him I got in 6th year? Or that I only slept with blondes for years because of him? I hate how much I feel for him! I hate it but I can't stop it! Is that what you want to hear?"

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed triumphantly, "That's what I've been trying to get you to admit since you told me you were gay!"

Harry sunk down onto her sofa, "What does it even matter though? He's happy, him and Michael are happy."

Hermione bit her lip guiltily, "I wouldn't be so sure about that Harry. I told you that Draco wanted advice about Michael and…it didn't look too good for them."

Harry frowned, "But they seem happy together."

"Maybe they are, in a sense," Hermione admitted, "He likes Michael, but that's nothing compared to what he feels for you. I can see it on his face every time that he looks at you."

Harry let his head drop into his hands, "It doesn't matter Hermione. Even if we were both single, I'm his boss."

"That didn't stop you from dating Susan when she was your boss," Hermione pointed out.

"It was different then," Harry said, "The rules weren't the same."

"Harry, if you let rules and regulations get in the way of your happiness after all the suffering you have already been through... well you're an idiot," Hermione said matter of factly.

Harry laughed weakly, "Thanks Hermione."

Hermione smiled and took his hand, "Don't give up Harry."

"I won't," Harry sighed, rubbing his forehead as he felt a migraine coming on, "But I may avoid the basement for a while."

"That might be a good idea," Hermione admitted, "I don't think I've seen you this jealous since Dean dated Ginny in 6th year."

Harry rolled his eyes, "That seems so insignificant now, compared to what else happened that year."

"Are you talking about the battle or your realisation that you wanted to screw your arch enemy?" Hermione asked calmly.

Harry shot her an amused smile, "Both," he admitted.

Hermione smiled back at him, "You'll be fine."

"I always am," Harry added.

"And you aren't too mad at me?" Hermione asked, concern shining in her eyes.

Harry shook his head, "You were just trying to help out a couple of lonely people. I can't fault you for that, if the fault is anyone's its mine. I've had months to say something or to act on my feelings, but I haven't."

Hermione smiled sympathetically, "You'll still have time, I know it."

Harry didn't look quite as convinced as he got to his feet, "Maybe," he sighed, "But I better get back to work. I'll see you for lunch on Monday."

"See you then," Hermione said as she watched him go.

* * *

"Good morning."

"Got a case for us?" Draco asked without looking at Harry.

Harry nodded, "Yes, I do," he said, dropping the case file onto Draco's desk, "But I'll be working with you on this one."

"Why is that?" Draco asked.

"Have a read and you'll see," Harry said, looking pointedly at the case file.

Draco flipped open the file and read aloud for the benefit of the rest of the team, "Theo, are you ready with the whiteboard?"

With a flick of his wand Theo had cleared it of their last case, "Yep."

"Our victim is Sebastian Hawthorne," Draco said, "17 years of age. His body was found in the dungeons at Hogwarts."

Silence echoed around the basement.

"Someone was murdered at Hogwarts?" Daphne asked quietly.

Harry nodded, "Which is why I'll be riding along on this one. It gets worse Draco, keep reading."

Draco did so, "The coroner's initial report states that the cause of death was a cutting curse to the neck. He had lost too much blood, by the time someone found him he was too far gone. He died in St. Mungo's less than an hour later."

"What do we know about him?" Harry asked, the others were still in shock at the fact something so hideous had happened within the walls of Hogwarts.

Draco cleared his throat, "He was a Slytherin in his 7th year at Hogwarts. Without talking to his friends and family yet however, we don't know much more than that."

Harry sighed, "This is horrible and I can understand why its shocked you all. Something like this should never be able to happen in a school but there are sick people everywhere and it has happened. All we can do now is focus on finding out who did this so that we can arrest him for it."

Draco nodded, "So you're the lead on this one?"

"Yes," Harry replied, "I am. Now first things first, Draco and I are going to have a second look at the crime scene to see what the basic Aurors missed. Neville, I want you and Theo to talk to Hawthorne's friends at the school. Find out anything you can about him."

Neville and Theo nodded. Harry turned to Daphne and Eddie, "I need you two to talk to Hawthorne's family. He has parents and an older sister, their addresses are in the case file. Find out if anyone had a grudge against him."

Daphne and Eddie nodded too, "Will do."

Harry gave a stiff nod and caught Draco's eye. The two of them walked to the apparition point at the back of the basement in silence. The closest they could get to the school by apparition was the entrance to the Three Broomsticks which meant they had a fair walk.

"I know what you're thinking," Harry said.

"What am I thinking?" Draco challenged him.

"You're thinking that this bears a striking resemblance to something that happened between you and I," Harry said as they wound their way up the path towards the school in the warm sunshine.

"Oh," Draco said with mock surprise, "Are you talking about that time you attacked me in a bathroom and left me for dead?"

Harry sighed and came to a stop in front of Draco. He blocked the blonde's way on the narrow path and looked him right in the eye, "I never meant to hurt you. I had no idea what that spell was going to do and I was horrified when it did that. I never apologised Draco, not properly, and I should have done."

Draco was surprised by his honesty, "Yes well let's just forget about it. We're here to find out who killed this poor kid, not relive our tragic past."

Harry smiled slightly and fell into step with Draco, "Our tragic past? You mean our whole love/hate thing that went on for years?"

Draco scoffed, "It was more hate than love, Potter."

Harry was glad that Draco was looking up at the school and not at him as disappointment flickered noticeably across his face.

* * *

"So," Neville said awkwardly as he stood in front of three teenagers, "You were Sebastian's friends?"

The trio nodded.

Theo rolled his eyes and pushed Neville aside, "Right then, name and shame yourselves."

The first of the teenagers to speak was a tall boy with dark red hair, "I'm Gareth."

A short, shy girl with dirty blonde hair in the middle of the two boys said, "Jessica."

"And I'm Toby," The third said. He was shorter than Gareth but stocky and athletic.

Theo surveyed them all for a moment, "Gareth, you were Sebastian's best friend. You had known each other since you were children and you grew up like brothers. Right?"

Gareth nodded slowly, "Yeah…my parents died in the war so Seb's Mother basically raised me. How did you know that?"

"Little mind reading trick," Theo said, tapping his forehead and looking at meek little Jessica, "Jessica…Sebastian was your boyfriend. You had been friends for years but you only started dating a few months ago."

Jessica nodded, her eyes were wide as she stared at Theo.

"And Toby…you're a Muggle-born so you only met Sebastian when you were sorted into Slytherin and became his dorm mate. But you've been friends ever since?"

Toby nodded, "That's amazing."

Theo smirked, and Neville cut in, "We really need to ask. Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Sebastian?"

Jessica burst into tears at his words, "No…everyone liked him…he was a nice guy."

"Jess," Gareth sighed, holding the girl close to his side and steering her away.

Toby glanced from his friends to the two Aurors, "Seb could be a bit of a prat to be honest. He was arrogant and cocky, he got into duels all of the time over stupid things. Anyone with a grudge could have done that to him in a duel…"

"What kind of school kid knows a spell like that?" Theo asked Toby in an undertone, "It's a serious dark magic curse."

"Anyone with access to the restricted section could find weird, lethal shit like that man," Toby replied, "There are tons of books on the dark arts hidden back there. Where do you think Voldemort learned it all?"

Neville and Theo shared a concerned look at those words.

"We're going to need to take an alibi from you Toby," Neville said, "And from your friends over there."

* * *

"Hi there Mr. Hawthorne. I'm Auror Greengrass and this is my colleague, Auror Carmichael. We have been assigned your son's case. Do you mind if we come in and ask you some questions?"

The thin, greying man standing in the door shook his head and took a step back, "Of course not. Come in."

Daphne and Eddie stepped into the hallway and followed Mr. Hawthorne into the living room of the fairly small, middle-class home. Sitting in a chair with dead eyes was his wife. Mr. Hawthorne saw them looking and said, "Forgive my wife. The loss of our only son has been very hard on her…she hasn't been quite the same since we heard the news."

"There's no need to apologise Mr. Hawthorne," Eddie said honestly.

"It's Jack," He said as he ushered them into armchairs.

"Well Jack," Daphne said gently, "I hate to do this so soon but we need as much information as possible from you to catch the person who did this to Sebastian."

Jack shook his head, "Ask away, please. I will do whatever it takes to help the Aurors punish the bastard who did this to my son."

"Do you have any idea why someone would want to hurt your son?" Eddie asked.

Jack sighed, "In all honesty, no. Sebastian had a bit of a cheeky streak, he answered back to the teachers and he was always getting himself into duels over petty arguments. He was powerful and he liked to show off his magic…his arrogance was always going to be his downfall. I told him that for so long but he never listened."

"The spell that killed your son was dark magic, Jack," Daphne said softly, "This was no ordinary duel. The person who did this knew dark, dangerous magic."

"I can't think of anyone like that," Jack said honestly, "His friends at Hogwarts were nice kids. We practically raised Gareth…his parents died in the war when he was only 10 years old. He spent every summer and Christmas here with us…he and Seb were like brothers."

"What about his other friends?" Eddie pried.

"There was Toby," Jack said, "They shared a dorm together and Seb always talked fondly of him. He was a smart kid, he helped Seb keep his grades up and they played Quidditch together. He wouldn't do this to Seb."

"Neither would Jessica," Mrs. Hawthorne said quietly.

"Jessica?" Daphne asked.

"Seb's girlfriend," Jack explained, "They had known each other since they were 11 years old but Seb had only recently gotten the courage to ask her out. They were happy together, Jessica wouldn't have done this."

"So you have no idea who did?" Eddie verified.

Jack shook his head, "No…I'm sorry, I haven't been very helpful."

"You've been very helpful," Daphne lied as she got to her feet, "If we have any follow up questions we'll come back. I am so sorry for your loss Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne."

* * *

Draco swallowed and froze in his tracks as soon as he and Harry walked into the crime scene. It was an abandoned classroom in the lower dungeons of the school. Sebastian's body had been taken to the morgue in St. Mungo's, but other than that the crime scene was left untouched.

"The blood," Draco said, suddenly very pale as he gripped the door for support, "There's so much blood."

"He died quickly," Harry said quietly, "We can take some comfort in that."

"He died choking on his own blood," Draco said darkly, "How can we take any comfort from that?"

Harry bit his lip and surveyed the scene, "It looks like a duel gone wrong."

"It could be staged to look that way," Draco pointed out.

Harry nodded, "That's true," he said as he waved his wand in a circular motion. Once he had finished he clicked his fingers to immerse the room in darkness. As darkness fell all DNA evidence in the room glowed.

"Sweet Salazar…" Draco muttered.

"These dungeons are filthy," Harry said in disbelief.

Every surface was covered in fingerprints. There were so many that they merged together and were completely useless for analysing.

"You didn't have to sleep here," Draco said dryly as Harry put the lights back on.

"Yeah well, we aren't getting any DNA evidence on this one," Harry sighed, "So I guess we're on our own."

Draco nodded and was relieved that they could now exit the crime scene. They stood in the corridor outside, examining their surroundings for a few moments.

"You know what I'm thinking?" Harry asked.

"You think a Slytherin did this," Draco said, an iciness in his voice.

Harry ignored the tone and said, "Look at our location. We're less than a minute away from the Slytherin common room."

"And if a Gryffindor was going to murder a Slytherin, they would do it in the dungeons to make it look like a Slytherin had done it," Draco remarked.

"No, they wouldn't," Harry said with a frown, "They wouldn't risk going so near to snake territory to kill a snake. You wouldn't kick the hornets' nest while you were standing right next to it…"

Draco glared at him, "And what motive would a Slytherin have for killing one of their own?"

"There is no loyalty amongst Slytherins. It could have been a power play," Harry said logically.

"No loyalty amongst Slytherins?" Draco asked angrily, "Try telling that to my team, Potter!"

"Malfoy," Harry said with exasperation, "We have to look at this from all angles."

"You seem pretty fixated on the angle that a Slytherin did this!" Draco argued.

"And you seem pretty convinced that a Gryffindor did!" Harry snapped back.

Draco shook his head angrily and turned away from the dark haired man, "I'm going back to the basement to brief my team."

Harry glared at his retreating form and followed him out of the school. Their walk back to the apparition point by the Three Broomsticks was in complete icy silence.

* * *

"What have we got?" Draco asked, still ignoring Harry as he addressed the rest of his team in the basement.

"We spoke to his friends," Neville said, "And Theo and I think that they all have motive. Their alibi's are all sketchy too."

Theo nodded and pointed to the white board, "Gareth Jenkins. Supposedly our vics best friend since childhood. He's a Ravenclaw, he was a Prefect and now he's Head Boy. Everyone loves him."

"But he was getting pretty cosy with the vics girlfriend, Jessica Thorne," Neville added, pointing to Jessica's picture.

"Like sweeping in the second her boyfriend was dead cosy," Theo said.

"And Jessica isn't perfect herself either," Neville said, "She's a Gryffindor and she's Head Girl. She claims that her and Gareth are close friends, but nothing more."

"Why does she have motive?" Harry asked from his perch on Draco's desk.

"Our victim was a bit of a player from what we've heard," Theo replied, "One of his friends confessed that he had covered up for Hawthorne once for straying."

"So if Jessica knew…" Draco trailed off.

Neville nodded, "Motive."

"And his third friend is Toby James," Theo said, pointing to the picture on the board, "A Slytherin and a dorm mate of Hawthorne's since they were 11. They played Quidditch together and from all accounts were close friends."

"But?" Draco interjected.

"But," Neville said, "Before he started to date Jessica, Hawthorne had a girlfriend by the name of Trisha James."

"Toby's little sister," Theo smirked.

Harry scoffed, "And that's motive? Come on! That would be like Ron killing me for dating Ginny!"

"It's not the strongest, but it is a motive," Draco said with a shake of his head, "If Hawthorne broke James' little sisters heart then it's a motive."

"Exactly," Theo said triumphantly.

Harry didn't look convinced as he turned to Daphne and Eddie, "What did you two find out?"

"Not much," Daphne admitted, "Hawthorne's Father was convinced that none of those three did it. He said that they were all really close friends. He did say that his son had a tendency to get into duels over petty arguments and that his arrogance was going to get him killed one day."

"It did look like a duel gone wrong," Harry mused.

"But is it really that simple?" Eddie asked.

"That's what I don't know," Harry admitted, "There's just something off about this case. Something isn't quite sitting right with me…"

"Well there is one weird thing that I picked up in the initial report," Eddie said as he glanced at the brown file in his hands, "Hawthorne's wand is missing. It wasn't at the crime scene or on his body when he was taken to St. Mungo's. His friends told the Aurors that he had it with him when they last saw him but it seemed to go missing after he died."

"Why would someone take his wand?" Daphne frowned.

"Because it contains a clue to how he was killed…or to who killed him," Harry mused, "I'm going to go and talk to an old friend about this. If he can help us find that wand then we might be able to work out who did this. Draco, can you go and talk to the coroner? We need to know a little more about how he died."

Draco looked worried at the prospect but he nodded, "Sure," he said stiffly as Harry left the basement.

Daphne frowned at her friend and caught him by the arm just before he could apparate to St. Mungo's, "What's going on between you and Michael?"

Draco sighed, "Nothing, Daphne."

"Bullshit," Daphne said, surveying her friend.

Draco caught her eye and said quietly, "I've been avoiding him a little bit lately because I'm just…I'm not sure if he's…I don't think he's…"

"The one," Daphne finished.

Draco nodded, "Yeah."

"Draco," Daphne sighed, "You have to tell him that. You can't just go on hurting him like this because you're too scared to tell him the truth."

"I know Daphne," Draco said, yanking his arm back, "I know that, okay?"

* * *

 _Knock. Knock._

"Come in!"

Draco swallowed his pride and stepped into the morgue. Michael glanced up from the body he was examining and raised an eyebrow at the blonde man, "You have been avoiding me."

"Yeah," Draco said honestly, "I'm sorry about that."

Michael shook his head, "I figured you had a good reason."

"I don't actually," Draco said with a frown, "I was just…putting off the inevitable."

"The inevitable break-up?" Michael guessed.

"You sensed it coming too then?" Draco asked.

Michael shrugged, "Oliver warned me that something was going on between you and Harry. I didn't want to believe him to be honest with you."

"Nothing is going on," Draco said as he caught Michael's eye, "I haven't cheated on you, if that's what you're suggesting. I just…I feel things for him that I can't wrap my head around and I've been trying to push them away but I just…I can't."

Michael smiled at Draco, "I get it. I was surprised when you showed any interest in me Draco. It's been obvious that you're in love with Harry since we were about…oh I don't know, 16."

Draco's frown deepened, "I'm not in love with him."

"So you're still in the denial stage then," Michael said with a warm smile.

"How can you be so okay with this?" Draco asked, frowning at the man.

Michael shrugged, "Because even if we aren't romantically involved, you're my friend. Don't get me wrong, I'm sad that we couldn't make things work between us but we had some good times while it lasted."

"Yeah," Draco agreed thoughtfully, "We did."

"I hate that this makes Oliver right though," Michael said, rolling his eyes at the very thought.

Draco chuckled and looked Michael in the eye, "So we're okay?"

"We're fine," Michael assured him, "Do you want to talk about the dead guy now?"

Draco laughed even louder at that comment, "Yeah, let's do that."

Michael grinned, "Well I have some interesting information for you on that one. The curse that killed him was a homemade one. I've never seen anything like it because it's not your ordinary cutting curse."

"Let me guess, it turns the wand into a knife," Draco guessed.

Michael nodded, "So you have seen something like it?"

"You've seen the scars on my chest," Draco said pointedly.

Michael's eyes widened, " _This_ curse did that to you?"

Draco nodded and Michael asked, "Who the hell did that?"

"That's a long story," Draco muttered, "It's called Sectumsempra. It's a homemade spell, you're right about that."

"Well it killed him quickly," Michael said, looking back to the corpse, "He would have lost consciousness after about 5 minutes and by the time he was found and taken to St. Mungo's, he was too far gone. He couldn't have lasted more than 15 minutes with the amount of blood he was losing so that puts the time of death at 10.14pm last night."

"Right," Draco said, "Anything else?"

"Your report said his wand was missing, didn't it?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Draco replied, "Nobody could find it at the crime scene."

"Well it looks like it was taken forcefully," Michael said, opening Sebastian's hand, "See the burn mark?"

"Right where his wand would be…" Draco mused.

Michael nodded, "Yeah. There were also high levels of adrenaline right after he was brought in so from that I'd guess he was in some sort of confrontation right before he was killed."

"Like a duel," Draco said.

"That would account for the adrenaline levels," Michael agreed.

"Alright," Draco said with a small smile, "Thanks Michael and…I'm sorry."

Michael shook his head, "No worries. I'll see you around, Draco."

* * *

When Draco stepped back into the basement it was a bustling hub of activity.

"Did you get anything from Michael?" Harry asked over the noise.

Draco nodded, "Uh…yeah."

Harry frowned, "Are you okay? You seem kind of distracted."

"It's nothing," Draco sighed, "I just…Michael and I sort of…broke up."

Harry's eyes widened, "Oh."

Draco frowned at the response but decided not to comment on it, "I know how he was killed. It wasn't an ordinary cutting curse; it was a homemade one."

Harry looked up at Draco in horror, "Sectumsempra?"

Draco nodded and asked under his breath, "How the hell could a school kid learn that spell?"

"They would have to have the book," Harry said quietly, "Snape's old potion book. That was how I learned the spell, but I hid it in a cabinet in the room of hidden things. I never thought anyone would find it…"

"I thought that room was destroyed in the fiendfyre after the war," Draco said.

"So did I," Harry said, his frown deepening, "I'm sure that it was. But how else could he learn the spell unless…"

"Snape's portrait," They said in unison.

Harry nodded, "We'll go to the school and check it out once your guys have finished the job they're doing for me."

"What are they doing?"

"I spoke to my old friend, Ollivander," Harry said, "About the wand issue?"

"And?"

"And he was able to help me out," Harry said simply, "He told me how to track the wand. Your guys are working on it now. With any luck they will have a location in a few minutes."

"That's a great idea," Draco said, raising his eyebrow at Harry, "But your location is just going to be Hogwarts and it's a big school."

"It might be more specific than that," Harry debated.

"I highly doubt it," Draco said, glancing over to Theo and Eddie.

"Got it!" Theo exclaimed.

"Where is it?" Harry asked eagerly.

Theo frowned, "Uh…Hogwarts."

Draco smirked behind Harry's back as the Gryffindor asked, "Can you be a bit more specific?"

"Not with how heavily warded Hogwarts is," Theo said apologetically.

"Told you," Draco murmured into Harry's ear as he led the way to the apparition point.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Shut up."

* * *

"So, do you still think a Slytherin did this?" Draco asked smoothly.

"I think it had to be a Slytherin," Harry said honestly, "Snape's portrait is in the Slytherin common room."

"That doesn't mean a Slytherin did it," Draco argued, "A Gryffindor could have found out the spell from a Slytherin."

"Or a Slytherin could have found out the spell from Snape," Harry said pointedly, "You have to admit that this looks like it was a Slytherin."

"It also looks like it was a duel gone wrong," Draco reminded Harry, "Michael said that Hawthorne's wand was forcibly taken from him after his death or maybe even while he was dying. He had high levels of adrenaline when he died, it all points to a duel."

"And your point is?" Harry asked as they stepped into the entrance hall.

"Why would a Slytherin duel one of their own?" Draco asked, "Why would they kill one of their own? It doesn't make any sense."

"So you don't think that Toby did this?" Harry queried.

Draco shook his head, "No. His alibi is the strongest of all. Three people saw him studying in the library when Hawthorne was killed."

"And his motive is the weakest," Harry admitted, "Murdering someone for screwing over your sister is a bit extreme."

"So it doesn't point towards a Slytherin now?" Draco smirked.

"I said it didn't point towards _that_ Slytherin," Harry conceded as they made their way downwards into the dungeons, "It could be someone that we haven't considered yet."

Draco rolled his eyes, "You're being relentless."

"I'm being thorough," Harry corrected him.

"Well we'll just have to see what Snape has to say about all this," Draco said, leading the way through the dungeons.

"Whoever Snape told about the spell is very likely to be our killer," Harry said, "So unless someone snuck into the Slytherin common room, it doesn't look good for your old house."

"Because it's so hard to sneak into a common room," Draco said with a sideways glance at Harry, "It's not like you did it because you thought I was the heir of Slytherin or anything."

Harry snorted, "How many people do you know with a genius of a best friend who can brew polyjuice potion as a 2nd year?"

"Not many," Draco admitted, " _But,_ I happen to know that there are other, easier ways to sneak into common rooms."

"Would you?" Harry quipped, "And what are they?"

Draco smirked at the dark haired man, "Sneak in with someone from that house who knows the password. I've seen every common room in this school, apart from Gryffindor _obviously_."

"So you've never hooked up with a Gryffindor," Harry said, amusement lacing his voice, "Oh Malfoy, you have no idea what you're missing."

Draco didn't miss the flirty tone of his voice. He didn't have time to comment on it though because at that moment they came to a stop in front of the entranceway to the Slytherin common room.

"I assume you know the password?" Harry said, looking at the former Slytherin next to him.

"Unless things have changed drastically around here, I should be able to guess," Draco said. He stood and looked directly at the entrance and said, "Salazar Slytherin."

Nothing happened.

"Merlin?" Draco attempted.

"Still nothing," Harry muttered.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Pureblood."

"Nope."

"I don't need a running commentary Potter," Draco remarked as he looked at the entrance thoughtfully, "Serpent."

The stones began to move back. Draco smirked at Harry, "See."

"It still took you four attempts," Harry said smugly.

"I haven't gone to school here for 7 years, what do you expect?" Draco retorted as he led the way into the Slytherin common room.

Harry followed him into the damp passageway. He had no idea _where_ Snape's portrait was in the common room, but Draco clearly did. They walked along the passageway and came to a small crossroads before they reached the common room. Draco led them along a passageway to the left which contained a small classroom.

"It's supposed to be a study area," Draco explained as he pushed the door open, "But when we were at school it was more like a room for couples to sneak away to, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah, I get it," Harry said. He glanced around the room and saw the portrait. It was a large, full length portrait just like the one of the fat lady. Snape was standing up, surrounded by potions ingredients and with a bubbling cauldron next to him.

"Potter," He drawled in the same way he had whilst alive.

"Snape," Harry said politely, "Don't pretend to hate me. It won't work now that I know that my Mother was the love of your life."

Draco tried to hide his smile at this comment as Snape rolled his eyes.

"Draco, what are you wearing?"

"Auror robes," Draco said with a slight smile.

Snape raised an eyebrow, "You are an Auror? You and Potter?"

"Yes, we're both Aurors," Harry replied as he perched on a desk, "And I'm also alive by the way, no thanks to you."

Snape sighed irritably, "What do you want?"

"A boy died, I'm sure you've heard about it," Harry said, studying Snape carefully.

"Yes," Snape said, "It was very tragic."

"Tragic," Harry mused, "Yes, his throat was slit with a homemade cutting curse. A curse that I learned from your old book."

"And what did you _do_ with that book?" Snape asked pointedly.

"I hid it in the room of requirement," Harry replied honestly, "And that room was destroyed by fiendfyre during the war. No thanks to this idiot."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Shut up."

Snape smirked, "Still bickering like an old married couple I see."

Harry ignored the comment, "You are the only person who could have told a student about that curse Snape. Don't bother lying to us, we know it came from you."

"I know you must care about that," Draco said, looking the man in the eye, "Someone died because of that curse and if you don't tell us who you taught it to, others might die too. Do you really want that on your hands?"

Snape narrowed his eyes at Draco, "I have only ever taught that spell to one student."

"Two if you count me," Harry cut in.

"I never taught it to you Potter," Snape drawled, "You stole it from me and almost killed my Godson with it."

"Which wasn't my finest moment, I'll admit that," Harry said, glancing sideways at Draco.

The blonde man looked at him in disbelief, "Seriously?"

"You've tried to kill me in the past too!" Harry exclaimed, "And I've saved your life tons of times since. I think we're probably about even."

"Even?" Draco asked irritably.

"For the love of Merlin," Snape sighed, "Obviously some things never change."

Draco turned his irritated glare away from Harry to look at his Godfather, "Who did you teach the spell to?"

"Sebastian Hawthorne," Snape replied.

Harry frowned and turned to look at Draco, "What?" they said in unison.

"The only student I ever taught was Hawthorne. He showed an interest in complex magic and we got talking about my homemade spells," Snape explained.

"But…" Harry frowned, "…does that mean that he killed himself?"

"If he killed himself, why would someone steal his wand?" Draco asked.

"It doesn't make any sense," Harry despaired.

"You are pathetically dim-witted Potter. I may not be an Auror," Snape said, raising an eyebrow at the two men, "But even I can see what has happened here. Hawthorne taught someone else the spell and that someone used it against him."

Harry groaned, "Which leaves us no closer to working out who killed him! We don't know who Hawthorne taught the spell to and we have no idea where the killer put his wand!"

"I might be able to help you there," Snape said.

Harry and Draco turned to the man, "How?" they asked in unison.

Snape rolled his eyes, "There is an old tower that has fallen out of use. We called it the great tower when I was at school but officially it is called the turris magnus tower. The stairs were damaged during the war and when the school was rebuilt the Headmistress decided not to reopen the tower. There is an old lost wands store there, it's where any wands that disappear end up. Your killer may have hidden the wand there amongst the hundreds of others."

"How do we get to this tower?" Harry asked.

"The entrance is on the 4th floor," Snape replied, "It's hidden behind a tapestry opposite the door to the library."

"Thank you for your help Professor," Harry said honestly as he stepped towards the door.

Snape bowed his head, "May I have a word with my Godson before you leave?"

"Sure," Harry replied, "I'll meet you in the entrance hall Draco?"

Draco nodded, "Yeah, I won't be long," he promised.

Harry smiled and slipped out of the classroom, shutting the door behind him.

Draco looked up expectantly at his Godfather's portrait, "Go on, I know what you're thinking."

Snape rolled his eyes, "After all of this time? You are still pining after Potter."

"Oh right because you can talk about pining after someone for years," Draco scoffed, "Potter's mother got married and had a child and you were _still_ pining after her."

Snape narrowed his eyes at Draco, "He told you about that?"

"He's my friend, he tells me things," Draco said simply.

"Your friend?" Snape quipped, "And only your friend?"

"For the moment," Draco replied, "We've been getting closer…"

"Oh Merlin," Snape sighed, "You and Harry Potter. The tragic romantic love story that I watched play out for 7 years. Does your Father know about this affliction of yours?"

"My Father is dead," Draco said darkly, "My Mother too. Azkaban took them both."

Sympathy flashed in Snape's eyes, "I'm sorry."

"So am I," Draco said, tearing his eyes away from the portrait, "But I have my life together now Severus. I'm an Auror, I lead my own team. They are like a family to me and Potter is…"

"If you say that he is the best thing to happen to you then I will throw up," Snape said dryly.

Draco chuckled and looked up at his Godfather. It was a rare sight; he was actually smiling.

"He is," Draco said genuinely, "And I really need to go help him close this case."

Snape nodded, his smile remaining on his face, "I'm proud of you, Draco."

A smile lit up Draco's face at those words, "Thank you," he said, his voice laced with emotion, "And…I miss you, Severus."

"And I you, Draco," Snape said sincerely.

* * *

"So what did you and Snape chat about?" Harry asked conversationally.

"He just wanted to know what had happened to my family," Draco lied.

"Ah," Harry frowned, "That's not exactly a happy story."

"No," Draco agreed, "But let's get back to the case. If we find Hawthorne's wand in this tower, how is it going to help us?"

"It might not," Harry said honestly as they stepped out onto the grand staircase. There were obviously classes on at the moment because the school's corridors were scarily empty.

"But?" Draco probed.

"But performing priori incantatem on the wand might well help us," Harry said, "Sometimes it projects an image of the last spell that was cast. If there was a duel we might well see the person he was duelling in that image."

"Might being the operative word," Draco said.

"Yeah," Harry sighed, "But at the moment it's all we have. There's no way of finding out who Hawthorne taught that spell to."

"It had to be one of his friends," Draco said logically, "If someone teaches you a secret spell you aren't going to show it off to anyone, are you? You would only show someone that you trust."

"Which takes us back to square one," Harry said, stepping off of the moving staircase and entering the fourth floor corridor, "It has to be Gareth, Jessica or Toby."

"At least we've got it narrowed down," Draco shrugged.

"Not that it helps much," Harry remarked.

They had reached the tapestry that Snape had spoken of. Harry pulled it back and surely enough, there was a hidden door behind it.

"Alohomora," Draco said quietly.

There was a soft creak and the door swung open. Harry stepped carefully into the tower, "Lumos," he murmured, lighting up the circular staircase leading upwards.

"Do you think it's structurally safe?" Draco asked quietly.

"I hope so," Harry replied as he stepped onto the staircase and began to climb up.

"That's encouraging," Draco said sarcastically.

"I'm joking," Harry said, his voice echoing around the stairwell, "The school is structurally safe. After the war when we helped to rebuild the place, we made sure that we did a good job of it. There were a ton of health and safety regulations that had to be met. Even parts of the school that were to remain disused had to be structurally safe in case a student stumbled upon them accidentally."

"Did you know that this was here?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. He had seen it on the Marauders map but he had never bothered to explore it because it looked like it was full of empty classrooms, "I've never been up here though."

"It's weird, that they shut huge sections of the school off," Draco mused, "The Herbology Tower isn't used anymore either. They used to do observations on the forest from up there."

"I guess there are less students now than there used to be," Harry said, "This is a huge school after all and when Hogwarts opened there must have been loads of wizards and witches."

"It's not like we're dying out, Potter," Draco said in amusement, "We breed, you know."

"People like you and I don't exactly help our cause though, do we?" Harry asked, shooting the blonde man a grin.

Draco shook his head in amusement, "You knew what I meant," he said as they reached the top of the stairs.

Harry was silent as he led the way along a long, narrow, serpentine corridor that was dimly lit by their wand light.

"Lost wands store," Harry murmured as he brushed the dust off of the door.

He pushed the door open and lit the gas lamps along the walls.

"Holy shit."

"How the hell are we going to find Hawthorne's wand amongst this lot?" Draco asked in disbelief.

The small room was crammed with hundreds, maybe even thousands of wands.

Harry frowned, "I have an idea…"

"What's your idea?"

Harry raised his wand, "Accio Sebastian Hawthorne's wand."

They waited but nothing happened. Draco snorted, "Did you really think that old trick would work Potter?"

Harry was preparing a snarky reply as the wands on the wall rattled and vibrated. The wand flew right into Harry's hand and he grinned broadly as he turned around, "Nice trick, right?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "Yeah, real clever Potter," he grumbled.

"We need to get this back to the basement," Harry said, slipping the wand into the inside pocket of his robes, "Once Theo's analysed it we should know who our killer is."

* * *

"How was your nostalgia trip?" Daphne asked brightly.

"Productive," Harry said triumphantly.

"Did you find the wand?" Theo asked.

"Yes, we did," Harry replied, dropping said wand onto Theo's desk, "See if you can get any fingerprints from that and-"

"Priori incantatem, yeah I know the drill," Theo said with a wave of his hand.

"You were ages," Neville said, narrowing his eyes at his friends, "And you're covered in cobwebs. What the hell have you been doing?"

"Long story," Harry said as he walked towards the patio door.

"Shorten it," Daphne said.

"Had a chat with dear old Severus Snape, found a secret tower and in doing so found our victim's wand," Harry rattled off, "Storytime is over, smoking time is now beginning. Coming Malfoy?"

Draco smiled in amusement, "Yeah," he said as he followed the Gryffindor out onto the patio.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at Neville, "What was that?"

"That's Harry desperately trying to get Draco alone," Neville said, an amused smile playing on his lips, "With any luck those two will finally get together soon."

"I hope so," Eddie said, "I mean they're worse than the fictional couples I watch on TV."

Neville snorted, "You watch shitty romantic TV?"

"No, I watch epic TV," Eddie said with a grin, "Like this one show called Supernatural. It's about these two brothers, right? And they road trip across America in this sweet Impala hunting demons and spirits. But then this angel called Castiel comes into the mix and he's totally in love with Dean and it's the most obvious thing in the world. That is how obvious Harry and Draco are…but Dean and Castiel aren't together yet either."

Daphne bit her lip to stop herself from laughing, "You were saying about _not_ watching trashy TV?"

"Supernatural is not trashy TV!" Eddie exclaimed, "I swear, you purebloods have no taste whatsoever."

* * *

"Have you not gotten anything from that wand yet?" Draco asked impatiently.

"I'm nearly there," Theo snapped, "I need to be careful. If I mess up I'll strip the wand of it's magical covering and we won't be able to use priori incantatem."

"Well hurry up," Draco said as he paced the basement, "I want to arrest the bastard who killed this kid."

"Alright, alright," Theo muttered, "I think I've got it…"

He dimmed the lights and assessed the wand, "Three sets of fingerprints. One set are Hawthorne's and that set…that's yours Harry."

"The third?" Draco asked, "Does it match the fingerprint samples any of his friends gave us?"

"Yes," Theo said, frowning as he extracted the suspicious fingerprint, "I'm running it just to be certain…"

"Who's is it?" Draco asked impatiently, "Is it Jessica's?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Would you quit trying to pin this on the Gryffindor?"

"Come on Potter, I know that you think it's Toby," Draco remarked.

Harry sighed and glanced over at Theo, "Who is it Theo?"

"These fingerprints match Gareth's," Theo replied.

Neville snorted in amusement, "So you two have been so busy pinning this on Slytherins and Gryffindors that you never even stopped to think about the Ravenclaw?"

Harry shut his eyes in disbelief, "Of course…it makes perfect sense. Gareth is in love with Jessica."

"And Jessica was devoted to Sebastian," Draco nodded.

"You said it yourself," Harry said to Draco, "Hawthorne must have trusted the person who he taught the spell to. Who would he trust more than his best friend?"

Draco nodded, "Can we bring him in?"

"Yes, we can," Harry replied, "I'll make the arrest with you right now. Theo, can you and Eddie use priori incantatem and store the memory for the trial? It will have to be used as evidence."

Theo nodded, "We're on it."

* * *

"Why have you brought us all here?" Jessica asked in a small voice.

"Because one of you killed Sebastian," Draco said calmly as he looked at Gareth, Jessica and Toby who they had gathered in an abandoned classroom.

"What?" Toby asked angrily, "How dare you suggest that? We were Seb's friends!"

"One of you wasn't a very good friend," Harry said simply, "We considered all of your motives. Toby, we discarded you very early on. Sebastian dated your sister and broke her heart, but that's not really a reason to kill."

Toby frowned at them in confusion.

"And Jessica," Draco said, "We know that Sebastian was a bit of a player. He had strayed once and you knew about that. Didn't you?"

Jessica nodded as tears fell from her eyes, "But I loved him. I wouldn't kill him for that."

"No, you wouldn't," Draco said, "We believe you."

"Then there's you Gareth," Harry said, looking the boy in the eye, "Sebastian's best friend, the closest thing that he had to a brother. He would have told you everything, wouldn't he?"

"He would have told you all about the cool spell that he learned," Draco said coolly, "And he would have had no idea that you were going to use that spell against him."

"I didn't kill him," Gareth said hotly, "Sebastian was my best friend!"

"That's true," Harry said thoughtfully, "But Sebastian had cheated on Jessica and then laughed about it to you afterwards. You can't pretend that you didn't get angry about that."

"After all, you love Jessica," Draco said calmly, "And you couldn't stand to see Sebastian humiliate her like that."

"So you got into an argument with him and that argument escalated into a duel," Harry said, seeing the guilt begin to flood Gareth's eyes, "You let your temper get the better of you and you used the cutting curse that Sebastian had taught you. Then you stole his wand to cover up the evidence and you left him dying on the floor."

"No-"

"Yes," Draco said darkly, "You could have called for help. You had the chance to save your friend Gareth, but instead you left him to bleed to death because you were too afraid of what would happen to you if anyone found out what you did."

The tears he had been holding back fell from Gareth's eyes. Upon seeing this Jessica screamed, "It was you!"

"Jess, please," Gareth pleaded, "It was for you-"

Jessica shrunk back in horror, "You monster!" she sobbed, "You sick monster!"

"Gareth Jenkins, you are under arrest for the murder of Sebastian Hawthorne," Draco said, binding Gareth's hands and feet.

Harry had grabbed Jessica to stop her from attacking Gareth. Her anger had very quickly dissipated into a fit of tears which had left Harry trying to comfort the teenager.

"You deserve to rot for this," Toby said, venom dripping from his voice as he glared at Gareth.

"He was the monster!" Gareth snapped, "He should never have treated Jess like that! If she had chosen me I would never have done that to her!"

"But she didn't chose you!" Toby shouted, "She loved Seb and you just couldn't handle that, could you? You are pathetic!"

"Go on," Draco said to the boy, "Take a swing before I throw him in a holding cell."

Toby wasted no time in punching Gareth in the face as hard as he could.

"Go rot in hell," Toby spat.

"Trust me, Azkaban is a close as he will ever get," Draco assured Toby.

Toby gave a stiff nod and Draco glanced to Harry, "Meet you back at base?"

Harry nodded, "I'll handle things here, just get him behind bars."

"My pleasure," Draco remarked.

* * *

Draco breathed out a sigh of contentment as he rested his feet on the small coffee table that had appeared on his patio. He was watching the sunset and enjoying a glass of his favourite firewhiskey while he waited for Harry to return from upstairs.

"Can I have a glass of that?"

Draco smiled slightly and handed him the bottle, "Be my guest."

Harry sat down next to Draco on the comfortable bench. He poured himself a drink and put his feet up, "For once I don't want to poison the beautiful view with smoke."

"I know what you mean," Draco said, looking out at the sunset.

"It looks so real."

"It is," Draco said, "I've been playing around with Granger's fake weather charm. That right there is our actual sun, setting outside of this building right now."

"You fiddled with complex wards just so you could watch sunsets?" Harry asked.

Draco shrugged and sipped his whiskey, "I like sunsets. There's something nice about a day burning out for a new day to begin."

Harry hummed thoughtfully, "I've just come from the head of department's office. Jenkins is going to Azkaban for a long time. He's a juvenile so he won't be in there with the real bad guys but he won't walk free until his 25th birthday, at least."

"Good," Draco said firmly, "There's something sick about that kid."

"We're going to liaison with Hogwarts too," Harry added, "We've got to make sure that something like this never happens again. That school should be a safe place…no child should ever fear for their life there."

Draco snorted, "Right, because it was such a safe place when we were there? In 1st year Voldemort snuck in under our Defence professor's turban. In 2nd year a giant snake slithered around trying to kill Muggle-borns. In 3rd year a wanted criminal broke into the school and we were taught by a werewolf-"

"He was a _good_ werewolf and that criminal was framed," Harry reminded Draco.

Draco waved his hand, "Details. In 4th year we had some crazy dangerous tournament that led to Voldemort being resurrected."

"The only person who didn't feel safe that year was me," Harry cut in.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Details. In 5th year…actually, I felt pretty safe in 5th year."

"You didn't have some psycho toad breathing down your neck," Harry said.

"I wasn't stupid enough to create a secret society," Draco smirked.

"It was the right thing to do," Harry said stubbornly.

"Right. In 6th year we had a war raging around us. I had just been forced into becoming a Death Eater and you were like a private fucking investigator stalking me all year and making me seriously paranoid. Then there was a battle and Dumbledore died, and I almost had to kill him until my Godfather did it because he'd secretly made an unbreakable vow with my bloody Mother."

"That year kind of trumps them all," Harry agreed, "And I do have a confession to make."

Draco looked sideways at him, "About what?"

"Stalking you," Harry admitted, "I did think you were a Death Eater which was the main reason why I was following you but I did get a little bit…uh obsessed…with you. I don't suppose it was a coincidence that I worked out that I was gay towards the end of that year."

Draco looked at Harry in surprise, "I made you realise that you were gay?"

Colour rose in Harry's cheeks, "Uh…yeah. I suppose you did, inadvertently. You did go and ruin it all when you ran away with Snape and tried to kill Dumbledore though."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Please, I saved your life in the war. I knew it was you when you were brought to the manor."

"And I never had to save your ass from that fiendfyre," Harry quipped.

"So why did you?" Draco asked, his grey eyes meeting Harry's

Harry visibly swallowed, his cheeks still pink from embarrassment, "Because you reminded me of myself. We both grew up in unhappy family homes and we were both forced into a life that we didn't want. I had no choice, I had to be the chosen one. You had no choice, you had to be a Death Eater. I guess that I realised a lot that year…but the main thing that I realised was that my perception of good and bad was totally wrong."

"Because of me?" Draco asked in surprise.

Harry nodded, unable to take his eyes off of Draco, "People who were raised in terrible homes and in bad situations who still turn out to be good people…well those people are the real heroes. Not people like me who only do the right thing because it's what they've been told to do their entire life."

Draco frowned and glanced down, "I didn't do the right thing in the war, Potter. I should have stayed by your side instead of walking over to my parents…to Voldemort."

"You threw me my wand, Draco," Harry said, resting his hand on Draco's.

Draco looked up sharply and saw Harry staring at him with those bloody green eyes, "If you hadn't done that…I might never have defeated Voldemort. You helped me win that war and as far as I'm concerned you made your choice the second you chose to throw me that wand."

"I didn't choose the light Potter," Draco said, frowning at the fact he seemed unable to break eye contact with the man, "I chose you."

Harry's eyes widened and surprise flashed through them. He leant forward and Draco's heart skipped a beat. He was certain that this was going to be the moment, the moment that the past few months had been building up to.

But then the door burst open.

"I have a case for you."

 **TBC :)  
**


	19. Tall Tales

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 19 - Tall Tales**

 _ **PREVIOUSLY:**_

 _Harry's eyes widened and surprise flashed through them. He leant forward and Draco's heart skipped a beat. He was certain that this was going to be the moment, the moment that the past few months had been building up to._

 _But then the door burst open._

" _I have a case for you."_

Harry and Draco both jumped apart, but Harry recovered from the shock faster than Draco did. He cleared his throat and stood up, "A case?"

Susan narrowed her eyes at the two men, "Yes, a case. Was I interrupting something here?"

"No, of course not," Harry replied calmly.

Susan looked unconvinced as she handed him a case file, "It's important that you start on it as soon as you can."

Harry sighed, "Don't we get to go home and sleep first? We have _just_ closed a case."

"Tough luck," Susan said, "It's the nature of the job Harry."

"Who is this case for anyway?" Harry asked, flipping open the case file.

"It's for your two teams to work on together," Susan replied, "There are two murders. I want you to investigate one each and collaborate with each other."

"Alright," Harry said, "We'll get started tonight but our teams need a rest. I won't be calling them in until the morning."

"That's your call," Susan said simply as she left the patio.

Harry and Draco stood in awkward silence while her heels clicked through the basement and up the stairs. Once Susan was gone, Harry cleared his throat and walked to the other side of the patio. He leant against the railing, keeping his distance from Draco.

"Okay so we have two murders," Harry said, frowning down at the case file, "Which at a first glance seem to be totally unconnected but Susan has a hunch that they are."

"Okay," Draco said, waiting for Harry to elaborate.

"The first victim was a muggle-born by the name of Timothy Grimshaw," Harry said, "And the coroner states that the cause of death was an animal attack…"

"What's odd about that?" Draco asked.

Harry was staring at the case file in disbelief, "It's the fact that three witnesses say that they saw Grimshaw get attacked by the creature."

"What was it then?" Draco asked, "Some kind of wolf or wild dog?"

"No," Harry said, looking up at Draco, "Apparently it was a killer rabbit."

"A _rabbit_?" Draco echoed.

Harry nodded, "Exactly."

Draco rolled his eyes, "So this is why Susan's handed this one over to us. It makes no sense and it's weird as hell."

"I'm starting to think that may be true," Harry said as he flipped the page, "The second victim was a half-blood called Randolph Anderson. The coroner's report says that his intestines had been ripped out and his…oh that is disgusting."

"What?"

"His brain had been removed," Harry said, screwing his face up, "And it looked like parts of his brain and intestines had been eaten."

" _Eaten_?" Draco asked in disbelief.

Harry nodded, "So we have a killer rabbit and what looks like a zombie attack. What the hell is going on here?"

"It could just be a rabbit with rabies and a sick cannibal," Draco pointed out, "Two totally unconnected murders."

"Maybe," Harry mused, "But I'm inclined to trust Susan's hunch on this one. Something weird is definitely going on."

"We'll revisit it in the morning," Draco said, pushing himself to his feet, "We both need sleep if we're going to be alert tomorrow."

Harry nodded, "I'll see you here at 7am tomorrow morning. We'll gather our teams together and work out where the hell we're going with this."

* * *

"Where's Theo?" Daphne yawned as she lounged on the sofa.

"Off sick," Draco replied, "Granger called this morning to say he wasn't going to be able to make it in."

"Man flu probably," Daphne retorted.

"In summer?" Eddie asked in amusement.

"He's Theo, he could have man flu at any time of the year," Neville said.

"Are you going to tell us what's going on yet?" Daphne asked, looking directly at Draco.

"Not until Potter and his team arrive," Draco said simply.

"Is it a seriously bad case?" Neville asked, "Because you seem nervous."

"No, it's just a weird case," Draco said honestly, "The weirdest one I've ever worked."

"Trust me, I've worked weirder," Harry's voice said as he stepped into the basement with Ron, Dana and Harrison trailing him.

Draco raised an eyebrow at the man, "Really?"

"Really," Harry said, sitting down on Draco's desk and addressing the group, "Okay so we have two murders which may be unconnected or which may well be by the same person. My team are going to cover the first murder and Draco's are going to cover the second but we'll be collaborating the whole time. Understood?"

There were nods all around the basement.

"Good," Harry said, "So first things first then. My guys, we'll be taking on the murder of Timothy Grimshaw. He was a 21-year-old student at Founders Rock college and he died in a cave near the college."

"Cause of death?" Ron asked.

"Killer rabbit," Harry replied.

An echo of, "What?" went around the basement.

"I warned you that it was a weird one," Harry said, "According to the witnesses Grimshaw was attacked by a killer rabbit, and the coroner's report says that he was killed in some sort of animal attack."

"If that's the first murder then I doubt the second can get any weirder," Daphne said, looking to Draco.

"Famous last words," Draco said with a slightly amused look in his eyes, "We'll be covering the murder of Randolph Anderson. He was a 34-year-old author who used to teach at Founders Rock but as of yet that's the only connection we have found between the two victims."

"So he wasn't killed by a vicious rabbit?" Neville asked, raising an eyebrow at his boss.

"No," Draco said, "His intestines were ripped out and his brain had been removed. The coroner said that it looked like both had been…eaten."

Daphne's jaw dropped and Eddie's eyes widened, "Are you saying that he was eaten alive by a zombie?"

"Or a cannibal," Draco said, "Because zombies only exist in shitty Muggle fiction, Eddie."

"So you think," Eddie remarked.

Neville frowned, "So we have a killer rabbit and an apparent zombie attack. What the hell is going on here?"

"That's what we need to find out," Harry said, "So we'll split off into our teams and we'll reconvene at lunch-time, hopefully with more information."

* * *

"So what's our first move, boss?" Harrison asked.

"We need to talk to those witnesses," Harry said, "Ron, can you and Harrison head over to the college and question them again?"

Ron nodded, "Sure. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go to the cave where Grimshaw was killed and see what I can find," Harry replied, "And I'll need you to come with me Dana, you're far better with DNA spells."

Dana smiled and nodded, "Of course."

* * *

"So where do you start when your vic was killed by a zombie?" Eddie asked.

"He wasn't killed by a zombie, Eddie," Daphne said.

"How do you know?" Eddie asked her.

"Because zombies don't exist," Neville cut in.

Before Eddie could complain any further, Draco jumped in, "They're right. Whoever this was, it wasn't a zombie. It was a person and a person can be caught and put in prison. So first things first, someone has to go and talk to the coroner."

"And that someone can't be you because you just broke up with the coroner, right?" Daphne smirked.

Draco rolled his eyes, "That's exactly why it can't be me but since you were so eager to point that out, you can go and have a look at the brainless corpse in the morgue."

"Thanks," Daphne said sarcastically.

Draco only smirked at her, "I'm going to go and check out the victim's garage where he was killed and Eddie you'll have to come with me for-"

"DNA evidence," Eddie said with a nod, "Yeah, I know."

"What about me?" Neville asked.

"Can you talk to the only witness that we have?" Draco asked, "It's Anderson's wife. She fainted from the shock and she's in St. Mungo's. No one has taken a statement from her yet and we need one."

"Sure," Neville said.

"We'll reconvene at lunch-time," Draco called as he led the way to the apparition point at the back of the basement.

* * *

"So this is where he was killed," Dana said as she and Harry stood in the entrance to a cave. They were only a few metres away from the grounds of the college.

Harry nodded and looked at the blood spattering the cave floor, "Can you get anything from that?"

"It was definitely an animal attack," Dana said, "There's no other way for the blood to have sprayed…well everywhere."

"Yes, but there's an animal attack and then there's a killer rabbit attack," Harry pointed out as they stepped carefully into the cave.

Dana immersed the cave into darkness and mumbled under her breath. All DNA evidence in the cave glowed brightly.

"How are there so many fingerprints in a cave?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"We're near a college," Dana pointed out, "It's probably a popular make out spot. I doubt any of these fingerprints are going to be useful…they're all too jumbled up."

"Well what about the killer rabbit? If it had rabies it must have been foaming at the mouth. Is there any trace?" Harry asked.

"None," Dana replied, restoring daylight to the cave.

"So we've got nothing," Harry groaned. He turned to leave the cave and added, "And I'm only sure of one thing, a killer rabbit didn't do this."

"Yes it did."

Harry and Dana both spun around, their wands instantly trained on the man who had just materialised in the cave. He was tall with grey hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed in years. He wore tatty robes and a rather creepy smile.

"Who are you?" Harry asked.

"I am Tim, the Enchanter."

Harry narrowed his eyes at the man, "How do we know that it wasn't you who killed Grimshaw?"

"It was the killer rabbit of Caerbannog," Tim said.

Harry rolled his eyes, "Rabbits don't kill people."

"That's no ordinary rabbit! It's the most foul, cruel and bad tempered rodent you will ever lay eyes on!" Tim exclaimed.

"I've had enough of this," Harry said, taking a step forward, "I'm bringing you into the Ministry for questioning."

Harry reached out to grab him but he had disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What the hell was that?"

"That wasn't apparition," Dana said with a frown, "He just vanished."

"How can people just vanish into thin air?" Harry asked her.

Dana shook her head, "I didn't think they could but I didn't think rabbits could kill people either."

Harry sighed irritably, "This case is really starting to piss me off!"

* * *

"So what exactly did you see?" Ron asked the three witnesses to Grimshaw's death.

"Well Timothy was going over to the cave on a dare," One girl said.

"It's supposed to be haunted by the ghost of Rowena Ravenclaw," One boy added, "There are loads of ghost stories about the cave."

A second girl nodded, "We dared Timothy to go in but he got to the entrance when this rabbit appeared."

"How big was the rabbit?" Harrison asked.

"Normal rabbit sized," The boy said.

"And it attacked a fully grown man?" Ron asked them disbelievingly.

The first girl nodded, "It had bright red eyes and really sharp teeth. It launched itself at Timothy and then…" she trailed off.

"Then it bit his head off," The boy said sincerely.

"A rabbit bit someone's head off?" Harrison asked the boy.

He nodded, and the second girl nodded too, "Clean off."

"And none of you were taking anything that night?" Ron quipped, "Not smoking anything you shouldn't have been?"

"No, we weren't!" The first girl exclaimed, "The basic Aurors took blood samples from us and fingerprints. We aren't lying!"

"We aren't!" The second girl agreed, "The killer rabbit killed Timothy!"

"Alright," Ron muttered, putting his notepad back in his pocket, "The killer rabbit did it…"

"And Merlin's my grandfather," Harrison snorted as he and Ron walked away from the three witnesses.

* * *

"Ah Daphne," Michael said with a smile, "I can guess why you're here."

"As much as I want to quiz you about why you and Draco broke up, I am here to look at dead people unfortunately," Daphne said with a cheeky smile.

Michael chuckled, "Draco never told you why we broke up?"

"Nope," Daphne said, "He's been very close-lipped on the subject. I did suppose it had something to do with Harry Potter though."

"Very perceptive of you," Michael said with a knowing smile, "Do you want to see the two dead guys? If you're squeamish I would advise against it because one of them is headless and the other is…well it's not very pleasant."

Daphne shook her head, "I think I'll just let you explain it to me. I don't really want to throw up my breakfast."

"Wise choice," Michael said, "So your first victim, like I said in my initial report, it looks like an animal attack. The way his head was chewed off in a clean break makes it look like a wolf attack to me. Whatever did it had very sharp teeth and moved incredibly quickly."

"Any other evidence on the body?"

Michael shook his head, "Nothing unfortunately."

"What about the second guy?" Daphne asked, looking at the blood soaked sheet covering the body.

"That one is proving harder to solve," Michael admitted, "I've never seen anything like it. Whatever did this to him wasn't human. A human wouldn't have the strength to rip his intestines out of his body and then feed on them whilst he was still alive."

Daphne made a face, "That's how he died?"

Michael nodded grimly, "He bled to death then his brain was removed and parts of that were eaten too. I suggested in my report that it was a cannibal attack."

"Eddie thinks it was a zombie," Daphne joked.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd agree with him," Michael said honestly, "But zombies don't exist."

"Exactly," Daphne said firmly, "Were there any fingerprints on the body?"

"None," Michael said, "Which is what doesn't make sense. To feed on someone like that…well whoever did it must have touched him and who _doesn't_ have fingerprints?"

"None of this makes any sense," Daphne concluded.

"I agree with you there."

"Alright," Daphne sighed, "Well thanks for your help Michael. Let us know if you find out anything else."

* * *

"This is disgusting."

Draco nodded his agreement as he looked at the blood stained floor of Randolph Anderson's garage in the little suburban muggle area where he had lived, "Just get what you can out of this place so we can leave."

"Why?" Eddie quipped, "Are you scared the zombie will come back?"

"Shut up and work Carmichael," Draco said simply.

Eddie knew when to joke with his boss and when to do as he said so he simply nodded, "Well the amount of blood ties in with Michael's report. See how it all stems from this central point here?"

Draco nodded and Eddie continued, "This was where Randolph's body was when the…thing…ate him."

Draco looked rather green, "Any DNA evidence?"

Eddie muttered to himself and then threw them into darkness, "Two sets of fingerprints."

"Which probably belong to Randolph and his wife," Draco sighed, "But we'll test them back at the basement anyway."

"There's no trace of another person being here," Eddie said, the confusion clear in his voice, "With the nature of this attack there should have been fingerprints and saliva. There should have been a whole heap of DNA evidence."

"Something really isn't adding up here," Draco agreed, putting the lights back on.

* * *

"Mrs. Anderson?"

A pale woman with wide, terrified eyes looked up at Neville from her hospital bed, "Who are you?"

"My name is Neville Longbottom, I'm an Auror," Neville said gently. He withdrew his badge from his pocket and showed it to her.

This put the woman at ease slightly, "This is about Randy, isn't it?"

Neville nodded and took a seat by her bed, "Yes, I'm working on your husband's case and as the only witness, I have to ask you a few questions."

"I understand," She said weakly.

"Mrs. Anderson-"

"Mary," She corrected him.

"Mary," Neville said kindly, "You found your Husband's body, didn't you?"

"Yes," Mary whispered.

"Was he alone when you found him?" Neville asked.

Mary shook her head and looked tearfully at Neville, "You'll think I'm mad. The healers think I'm mad, they're transferring me to the crazy ward."

Neville frowned and pushed down the thought of his parents, "I won't think you're crazy. But I need you to tell me what you saw because I think it killed your husband."

"It was eating him," Mary whispered tearfully, "When I walked in the thing was holding his…his brain…it was eating it."

"Calm down," Neville said, resting his hand on her arm, "What did this creature look like?"

"Like a man but…different," Mary said, the terror in her eyes growing, "It smelled horrible and it's skin was rotting…it was like a…"

"A corpse?" Neville guessed.

Mary nodded and promptly burst into tears.

* * *

"Attention!" Harry shouted as he walked into the basement which was full of noise.

Silence fell as Harry jumped onto Draco's desk to address the two teams, "Please tell me that _someone_ has made progress on this case."

"Nope," Daphne remarked, "Michael said that it looked like a wolf attacked Grimshaw. He said the creature had to be strong and have very sharp teeth to take his head clean off like it did. Then when it comes to Anderson, he said if he didn't know better he would think a zombie did it."

"Well Mary Anderson is sure a zombie did it," Neville said, "She said she walked in on the creature eating her husband's brain. Apparently it smelled horrible and it's flesh was rotting."

"The crime scene gave that same impression," Draco said.

Harry scoffed, "Oh come on Draco, you know that zombies don't exist."

"Maybe lots of things exist that we don't know about Potter," Draco snapped, "You just aren't open minded enough to see that."

"Oh and you are?" Harry remarked.

"Boys!" Dana cut in, "If you two keep arguing we won't get anywhere!"

"We aren't getting anywhere anyway," Ron said, "This case is full of loonies. The three witnesses are sure that a killer rabbit with red eyes and sharp teeth pounced on Grimshaw and took his head clean off."

"And then there's the matter of Tim the Enchanter," Dana added.

"Who?" Eddie frowned.

"Some creepy warlock who showed up at our crime scene and then disappeared into a cloud of smoke," Harry retorted.

"Oh because warlocks disappear into clouds of smoke," Draco scoffed.

"Shut up Malfoy, you weren't there, you didn't see it," Harry bit back.

"Would you two shut up?" Neville asked loudly, "Eddie, why did the name of the warlock seem familiar to you?"

"Oh shit!" Eddie said, "I've just worked out why this whole thing seemed so familiar to me! Tim the Enchanter was a character in a muggle film called _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_. There was a cave guarded by a killer rabbit in that film too."

"Are you saying someone is murdering people based on muggle movies?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"It looks like it," Eddie frowned, "I mean zombies are a huge thing in muggle fiction."

"Why the hell would someone stage murders like that?" Draco asked, a frown forming on his face.

"I don't know," Harry said, letting his head drop into his hands, "None of this makes any sense!"

Before anyone could say anything else Harry's communication bracelet began to beep. He pressed the button to accept the call a little too viciously, "Yes?"

"We've just had an interesting floo call which I think concerns your case," Susan's voice said.

"Another murder?" Harry asked.

"No, a kidnapping," Susan replied.

"A kidnapping?"

"Yes. I'll let you go through the details with the guy. Apparently he was kidnapped for a few hours and then returned. His name is Gregory Daniels."

"Alright, thanks Susan," Harry said sarcastically as he ended the call.

"Daniels…" Ron frowned, "He was the guy we interviewed earlier. He was a witness to Grimshaw's murder."

"One of the crazy ones who swore that a killer rabbit did it?" Harry asked.

"Yep," Ron replied.

"Fantastic," Harry muttered, "Draco, come with me. We're going to find out what shit this guy is on."

"What about the rest of us?" Neville asked.

Harry waved his hand, "Just…do something," he said, leading the way out of the basement.

* * *

"Gregory Daniels?"

The boy that Ron and Harrison had interviewed looked up. He was very pale with bloodshot eyes. He looked positively terrified, "Are you the Aurors?"

"I'm Auror Potter and this is my colleague, Auror Malfoy," Harry said as he and Draco sat down opposite the boy on a bench in the grounds of the college, "Do you want to tell us what happened?"

"I was kidnapped," Gregory replied, "By giants."

"Giants?" Harry echoed, "Here? In the UK?"

"Yeah," Gregory said quietly, "They came out of the woods and grabbed me. They took me to their camp…it was somewhere in the woods I suppose."

"And then they just returned you?" Draco asked sceptically.

Gregory shook his head, "Not right away…they made me do…things."

"What kind of things?" Harry asked.

Gregory frowned down at the table, "They experimented on me in a…you know…private way."

Draco made a face and caught Harry's eye. He could tell that the other man was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Right," Harry said as he fought to keep a straight face, "We get the picture."

"And that's not even the worst part," Gregory said under his breath.

"How does it get any worse than some giant making you his bitch?" Harry asked, and Draco bit down so hard on his lip to stop himself from laughing that he nearly drew blood.

Gregory glared up at them, "The giants…they made me…they made me slow dance."

Draco was now too far gone. He had to get up from the table and excuse himself. Harry was still managing to keep a straight face but he didn't know how much longer he could keep it up for, "The giants made you slow dance?"

"Yeah," Gregory said, "And then they brought me back and just dumped me on the lawn here. That was when I floo-ed the Aurors."

"Alright," Harry said, pushing himself to his feet, "Thank you for your…statement Gregory. We'll take it under consideration, okay?"

Gregory nodded and Harry walked away from the boy. When he reached Draco the two of them uncontrollably burst out laughing.

"Slow dancing giants?" Harry asked the blonde through his laughter, "Are we all losing our minds?"

"I don't know," Draco replied, wiping the tears from his eyes, "But something weird is definitely going on here."

"I can't wait to get back to the basement and tell the others about this one," Harry laughed as they apparated back into the Ministry.

The definition of the basement when they appeared back in it, was chaos. Harry and Draco stood still and stared at said chaos in disbelief and shock.

"Honestly Neville," Daphne said saying, "Would you just quit following me around? You're so clingy, it's unreal."

Then Neville was scoffing and wearing what looked like one of Harry's leather jackets, "Oh please, like you're the only hot girl in the world Daphne. I'm Neville Longbottom, I beheaded a freaking snake. I could sleep with anyone that I wanted."

"Why don't you just go and sleep with some fangirl then?" Daphne was arguing back and then they full on started shouting at each other.

Meanwhile on the other side of the basement Eddie and Harrison were arguing over Dana, _literally_ arguing _over_ Dana. She stood in between them and they were pulling her back and forth, "Just because you swanned in here with your bad ass criminal ways and took her from me doesn't mean she's yours."

"She was never yours," Eddie said, pulling Dana back, "She only thinks of you as a friend, jack ass."

"She can speak for herself," Harrison said, pulling Dana to him.

"Yeah I can and-" Dana began.

"Shut up Dana," Harrison and Eddie echoed.

Harry and Draco turned to each other, frowns forming on both of their faces, "What the hell is going on with your team?"

"My team?" Draco asked irritably, "What the hell is going on with your team?"

"My team haven't done anything wrong, they are professionals," Harry argued, "It's your time who have poisoned the minds of mine here!"

"My team are professionals too," Draco remarked.

"No they aren't."

"Yes they are."

"No, they aren't."

"Are."

"Aren't."

"Are!"

"Aren't!"

"SHUT UP!"

Silence fell across the basement and all eyes looked to the doorway where Theo and Hermione were standing. They both looked completely perplexed.

"Can't you bunch of idiots see what's going on here?" Hermione asked them all in disbelief.

"No…" Harry said slowly.

"A poltergeist has you all tied up in so many knots that you can't even focus on the case anymore," Hermione exclaimed, "A poltergeist who can take human form at that."

"And who is using Legilimency to plant thoughts and false memories in your heads," Theo added, "Look at you all, arguing over petty things."

"And then there's you two," Hermione said, looking directly at Harry and Draco, "Bickering like an old married couple."

"We are not!" They said together.

"You all need to snap out of this," Hermione said firmly, "Your killer isn't human. Your killer is a poltergeist, a real vicious one who is using pranks to kill. This is no Peeves, it's a dangerous spirit and you need to get the DRCMC involved."

"Oh for the love of Godric," Harry sighed, "That makes so much sense. The weird, random nature of the deaths…the fact that none of the clues have been adding up…"

"The fact none of us were able to focus on the case," Draco added, "Of course it's a poltergeist."

"But we can't arrest a poltergeist," Harry pointed out.

"Which is exactly why you have to get the DRCMC involved. You need to find your poltergeist and exorcise him right away, before anyone else dies," Hermione said, her arms crossed over her chest, "I wonder how you lot would survive without me sometimes. I only came down here to bring you lunch."

"Right," Harry said, he cleared his throat, "I'm heading up to the Spirit Division of your department Hermione. Maybe you should keep an eye on things down here Draco, if this poltergeist is pitting us against each other then it's best if we stay apart until we've exorcised it."

Draco nodded awkwardly, "Right."

"I'm going with you," Hermione said, an amused smile playing on her face, "I bet you don't even know where the Spirit Division is."

"I have no idea," Harry admitted.

Theo shook his head in disbelief as Harry left the basement with Hermione, "I'm starting to wish that potion Hermione gave me hadn't made me feel any better…"

"You picked a good day to fall ill," Draco said as he headed for the patio, "And I need a bloody smoke with the day I'm having."

* * *

"Since when do you let a poltergeist with the power of Legilimency get into your head?" Hermione quipped.

Harry rolled his eyes at her as they walked along the main corridor of the justice department, "Since forever. I might be able to fight the cruciatus and imperius curse, but I'm shit at keeping people out of my head. Remember?"

"Remember 5th year, you mean?" Hermione asked innocently.

"Yes," Harry said, narrowing his eyes at his best friend, "You know what I'm referring to."

Harry could have sworn he saw Hermione smirk as she said, "When Snape was trying to teach you Occlumency and kept seeing all the things you didn't want him to see? Like all of those dreams you were having about his-"

"Don't-"

"-Godson," Hermione finished.

They stepped into an empty elevator and Harry pressed the button for Hermione's floor a little too hard, "I hate you."

"You love me," Hermione said with an overly sweet smile.

Harry sighed, "Most of the time…I'm just fed up at the moment. I can't believe we didn't realise that a poltergeist was behind this."

"It's what they do," Hermione reminded Harry, "They play tricks on people and get inside their heads. Sometimes they're just misguided spirits like Peeves but the Spirit Division exists because of dangerous poltergeists like this one."

"When was the last time a seriously dangerous poltergeist was around in Britain?" Harry asked curiously, "I kind of failed to listen in History of Magic."

"I noticed," Hermione said, glancing at him with an amused smile, "And there have been a lot over the years to be honest with you. There was the Thornton Heath poltergeist in the 1970's. It didn't kill anyone but it was very malicious, it hurt the family members who lived in the house and any guests that they were entertaining. The last poltergeist to actually kill people would be the Mackenzie poltergeist."

They stepped out of the elevator into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

"Never heard of him," Harry admitted.

"You would have if you had listened in History of Magic," Hermione reminded him, "The Mackenzie poltergeist was really dangerous. He haunted Greyfriars Graveyard in Edinburgh which is where he was buried. Even now the muggles keep a chain on the mausoleum where his remains are to keep tourists out."

"Who would be stupid enough to go in?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Muggles seeking an adrenaline buzz," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes, "In life George Mackenzie was known as bloody Mackenzie because he was ruthless and he tortured and killed prisoners. His spirit was unleashed in 1998, three guesses how that happened?"

"Voldemort?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded, "He was desperate towards the end of the war, recruiting every evil beast that he could, including spirits. He opened the mausoleum and let the poltergeist out. Once it had been opened homeless muggles started to use it as a place to shelter at night. One of them fell into a pit filled with the remains of plague victims."

"Let me guess, that's when people started to die?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded, "Exactly. At first people were injured in strange circumstances. Then a woman was found dead with bruises on her neck, like someone had strangled her but there were no fingerprints. The council locked the mausoleum back up, hoping it would keep Mackenzie in but when Voldemort opened the mausoleum he broke down the magical wards keeping his spirit there. No one else died but people get bitten or scratched, burn marks just appear on their body or all a sudden they feel cold.

"So was the poltergeist exorcised?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head, "Nobody could do it. A muggle priest tried and the effort killed him. That was when our people got involved, I think it must have been around 2000. Like Peeves, Mackenzie was too powerful to exorcise so we locked him back up in his mausoleum and put up all the old spells that Voldemort brought down to keep him there."

"But all it takes is for someone to break in again and take them down, then he's out and more people die," Harry frowned.

"Which, if you think about it, is exactly how a prison works. How many people have you given deals to in exchange for information? They'll serve 10 years and get out, maybe they'll be reformed, or maybe they'll kill again," Hermione pointed out.

"It's different," Harry said, "A human has a chance to reform themselves but a poltergeist will never change."

"The principal is the same though," Hermione said.

"So you're saying that when we find this poltergeist, all we'll be able to do is lock him up?" Harry asked her.

"It depends," Hermione said honestly, "Poltergeists draw their strength from how much they are feared. By the time we tried to exorcise the Mackenzie poltergeist he was famous across Scotland. So many people believed in him and feared him that there was nothing we could do."

"And Peeves?" Harry asked.

"School children are the most vulnerable people around," Hermione said, "You know that poltergeists often torment children. With a whole school who believe in Peeves and a bunch of 1st years who are terrified of him, there's no way to get rid of him. As much as Filch wants to."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, "So we might have a chance?"

"I think we've caught it early enough," Hermione said honestly, "But we'll have to see what the experts say."

They had reached the door into the Spirit Division. Hermione opened it and walked into a large office with about 6 desks, each with someone working hard behind it.

"Miss. Granger," A man, slightly older than them, said with a smile.

"I'm not here on official business Jeremy," Hermione said with a smile, "Harry, meet Jeremy Snow, Head of the Spirit Division here in the DRCMC."

Harry smiled at the man, "Hi, I'm Harry Potter-"

"Head Auror," Jeremy nodded, "We all know who you are Mr. Potter. What can we do for you?"

"Well we have a poltergeist on our hands," Harry admitted, "A poltergeist who has already killed two people."

Jeremy's smile disappeared, "I see. I'll assign two of my best to your case, they should be able to help you hunt down and contain that poltergeist with no problem. Sally?"

A pretty woman with dark brown hair stepped forward. She smiled at them both, "It will be a pleasure to help you out, Harry."

Hermione tried to hide her amused smile as she saw Harry smile and thank the woman. He clearly had no idea who she was. Jeremy looked at Sally, "Pick a partner."

Sally turned around and looked at a woman with dark, curly red hair, "Mo?"

The woman smiled and got to her feet, "We do make a good partnership. I'm Morag MacDougall, in case you don't remember me."

Harry smiled and shook her hand, "I remember you," he lied.

"So where's this poltergeist?" Sally asked with what looked like eagerness in her eyes.

"My team are downstairs, I'll brief you there," Harry said, leading the way back down to the basement.

* * *

"You have no idea who either of them are," Hermione murmured into Harry's ear as Sally and Morag looked over the case files, "Do you?"

"Should I?" Harry whispered back.

"Well with Sally, yes," Hermione said, "I did share a dorm with her for 6 years."

"She was in our house?" Harry asked in surprise, "In our year?"

Hermione nodded, "She had glasses and acne back then though, so you probably didn't pay her much attention."

"I didn't pay a lot of girls much attention," Harry reminded Hermione, "In case you hadn't noticed I spent more time looking at Malfoy than anyone else."

Before Hermione could think of a witty remark, a voice from behind them said, "I'm touched, Potter."

Hermione bit down on her lip to stop herself from laughing as the colour rose in Harry's cheeks, "Eavesdropping, Malfoy?"

"I just happened to be walking by you on route to my desk actually," Draco said smoothly, but the smirk on his face went unmissed by both Harry and Hermione.

"What is going on between you two?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Don't even ask," Harry muttered.

"I think we might have something," Sally said, looking up at Harry.

"What?" Harry asked curiously.

"All three events happened on the grounds of Founders Rock College," Sally said, "There's a graveyard on the grounds."

"And if someone disturbed it they could have unleashed a poltergeist," Harry realised, "Like with the Mackenzie poltergeist a few years ago."

Sally looked impressed, "Yeah, who knew that Harry Potter was so well educated on the history of poltergeists?"

Harry smirked at Hermione as he replied, "Oh you know, the things you learn when you listen in History of Magic."

Draco snorted in amusement, "Granger told you on your walk to the Spirit Division, didn't she?"

"Am I that transparent?" Harry asked the blonde man in disbelief.

"Yes," Draco and Hermione replied in unison.

Harry rolled his eyes, "So Sally, how do we figure out who this poltergeist is and how do we stop it?"

"We take a trip to Founders Rock College," Sally replied, "We'll need a couple of Aurors there for back up but we shouldn't go in a large group."

"I'll accompany you," Hermione said, "And we'll take Harry and Neville, they're the two highest ranking Aurors here."

Harry nodded as he got to his feet, "And when we come back we can celebrate sending this poltergeists arse to hell," he said cheerfully.

* * *

"So how do you catch a poltergeist exactly?" Harry asked as he and his motley crew trekked across the college graveyard.

"You play it at its own game," Morag replied with a smirk, "You trick the trickster."

"Trick it into what?" Neville asked.

"Trapping itself," Sally replied, "In its own resting place usually."

"But we don't know it's resting place," Harry reminded them.

"It's not exactly difficult to work out though," Sally said as she came to a stop in front of the largest mausoleum in the graveyard.

Harry frowned at the building in front of them. Written above the door were the words, " _Alexander Gryffindor."_

"It seems like our mysterious poltergeist is none other than Godric Gryffindor's Grandson," Morag said matter of factly, "Our very own founder of Founders Rock College."

"Seriously?" Harry asked in surprise.

"A prankster in life and in death," Hermione mused, "It makes sense."

"But why would he kill people?" Neville asked.

"Because he's a misguided spirit who has been trapped inside his mausoleum for hundreds of years. It would drive anyone mad," Sally replied, stepping into the mausoleum, "Someone definitely tampered with it…the locking charms have been broken."

"And you're going to stand inside?" Neville asked.

"Too much of a wimp to come in Nev?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. He followed Sally and Morag into the mausoleum.

Neville glared at his friends back and stepped inside, followed by Hermione. Once they were all inside the door blew itself shut and a cold wind enveloped them all.

"He's here," Morag said.

It wasn't pitch dark in the mausoleum. Due to the age of the building there were cracks and gaps which allowed the sun to shine in.

"What now?" Harry asked, admittedly a little nervous.

"Well now that our poltergeist has shut us in, he's stuck here," Sally said smugly, "Because when we stepped in we automatically raised a whole heap of locking charms specific to spirits."

"So we can walk out, but Alexander is stuck," Morag finished.

These words made the poltergeist reveal himself. He took the form of a bedraggled man, but he looked human. He looked like a very angry human that was about to sweep in on them.

"I don't think so," Sally said calmly. She shot him with some kind of wooden stake that had flown out of her wand. It made him solid and held him against the wall while Morag began to exorcise him. She spoke in Latin and they could feel the magic around her brewing and growing as the poltergeist screamed and shouted out in pain.

After 10 minutes the shrieking stopped and the poltergeist slumped. Sally stepped forward and pulled the stake out. Once she had done so his body vanished into smoke.

"Is it over?" Harry asked quietly.

"It's over," Sally said, opening the door to the mausoleum and letting the daylight flood the tomb, "His spirit has gone to a higher place."

"So nobody else is going to die?" Neville asked.

"Not by the hands of Alexander Gryffindor," Morag replied.

"But we're going to lock this place up again, just to be on the safe side," Sally said, glancing up at the mausoleum.

"We need to get back and tell the others that this is over," Harry said, smiling at the two women, "But thank you for your help."

Sally smiled back, "Hey, it's what we do. You catch the living bad guys and we catch the dead ones."

Harry laughed, "Well we made a good partnership."

"Let's do it again sometime," Morag joked.

"I'd rather not," Neville said with a sheepish smile, "That wasn't the most fun experience I've ever had."

"Who would have thought the great snake slayer was afraid of a little poltergeist?" Hermione quipped as she hooked her arms through Harry and Neville's, "Thanks for your help on this one girls, I need to get these two back to their basement abode. See you tomorrow."

* * *

"Is it over?" Draco asked the moment that Harry, Neville and Hermione stepped into the basement.

"It's over," Hermione replied, "The poltergeist was exorcised. Nobody else is going to die."

"Or be forced to slow dance with giants," Harry said, grinning as he caught Draco's eye.

"You're going to have to explain that one," Daphne said, looking from her boss to her bigger boss.

"The kidnapping we investigated earlier," Draco said, "He claimed that he was kidnapped by giants who forced him to slow dance."

This led to a chorus of laughter echoing around the basement. Harry chuckled and shook his head, "Well I'm going to fill Susan in, and then I'm going to buy Hermione dinner for helping us see clearly today. I suggest you all clock off early, it's been one hell of a day.

* * *

"What on earth is going on between you and Harry?"

"Can't a guy enjoy a cigarette in peace around here?" Draco asked sarcastically.

Daphne raised an eyebrow at her friend as she shut the patio door, "You're my best friend Draco. I can read you like a book and right now I'm seeing a very interesting story unfolding."

"What story would that be?" Draco asked.

"The story of you and Harry Potter," Daphne said, "The epic love story. If you were waiting for the opportune moment, it's now. You're single, Harry's single and Merlin knows you both want each other. I mean I can't even be in the same room as you two without feeling the sexual tension."

Draco rolled his eyes, "He's my boss, Daphne."

"And?"

"And it's against the rules," Draco said, "I could lose my job, I could go to prison."

"Isn't it worth taking a chance on love for once?" Daphne asked him, her eyes meeting his.

"I don't love him," Draco said quickly, a little too quickly, "I'll admit that I have feelings for him but love…I don't think I'm even capable of love."

"I know you are and Harry does too," Daphne said honestly, "You know you love him, you just can't tell anyone that yet. Have you even admitted it to yourself?"

Draco didn't say anything but Daphne could tell what the answer was from the look on his face, "That's a no."

Draco was going to bite back with a sarcastic comment when he heard the balcony door above them opening. He looked Daphne in the eye and brought his finger to his mouth. She nodded and didn't make a sound.

"So…" Hermione's voice said from above, "You know how poltergeists who can control people with Legilimency do it, don't you?"

"Yes Hermione," Harry replied sarcastically, "Of course I do."

Hermione sighed irritably, "They play on traits of your personality. They amplify things, Daphne and Neville's personalities were amplified which was why they fought. You and Draco…well you act like a married couple anyway but the bickering was just an intensification of that."

"What's your point here?" Harry asked his best friend.

"My point is that you need to stop denying your feelings for him," Hermione said bluntly, "You've admitted it to me which is a huge improvement on only sleeping with blonde muggles who looked a bit like him-"

"Oh shut up, I didn't only sleep with blondes," Harry retorted, "And I have told you how I feel about him. What more do you want?"

"Tell _him_ that," Hermione urged.

"Right and get rejected?" Harry asked, "I nearly kissed him last night Hermione. Do you know how terrifying that is?"

"What do you mean _nearly_?"

"I mean Susan walked in just before I could," Harry replied irritably, "Which is proof of why it can't happen. I'm his superior, we would both be fired. Draco could go to prison; I'm pushing these feelings down because I care about him. Do you think I want this deal to break apart so that he's sent to Azkaban? That was what I always wanted to avoid."

"You wanted to fight side by side with him," Hermione said, "And you got your wish. He's a fantastic Auror, he won't be sent to prison and you know that. You're scared to act on your feelings which is perfectly natural Harry but you can't let fear rule your life."

"I know."

"So what are you going to do?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Harry replied honestly, "The opportune moment that I was waiting for the other night came up and Susan ruined it. I might not get that chance again."

"I can't believe Susan was such a cock block," Hermione said casually.

Draco and Daphne had to fight to stay quiet at those words while Harry exclaimed, "Hermione!"

 **TBC :)  
**

 **A/N: Based on the Supernatural episode of the same title, "Tall Tales" in series 2 or 3, I can't remember which!**


	20. The Puppet Master

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 20 - The Puppet Master**

"How's your serial killer case coming along?" Harry asked as he walked into the basement with coffee early on Sunday morning. He had dropped the case file off on Draco's desk the previous night.

"It's not," Draco sighed as he ran his hands through his messy hair, "There are no leads Potter, none at all!"

"Have you been here all night?" Harry asked Draco in disbelief.

Draco nodded glumly and took the coffee Harry handed him gratefully. The rest of the team weren't in yet, but it was only 6.30am.

"Why are you in so early?" Draco asked.

"I have a legal thing, at 7am," Harry said offhandedly as he sat at Neville's desk to drink his own coffee, "I hate serial killer cases too. It seems easy at first, to spot connections between the victims but never the obvious connection, and the leads are always so thin because the killer uses an alias…"

Draco was watching him with interest, "You enjoy this, don't you?"

"I miss this," Harry admitted with a glint in his eye, "As the top team we get the most high profile cases but not necessarily the best ones. Not the toughest ones, they only come to us if nobody else can crack them. I miss the serial killers, and the drug smuggling rings, oh, and the illegal dragon tournaments."

Draco shook his head at the raven haired man, "You're a little bit fucked up, anyone ever told you that?"

"Ron and Hermione, all of the time," Harry laughed, "Here, chuck me that file I'll have another look before I head up for my court case."

* * *

By the time Harry's court case was done it was lunch time, and when he walked into the basement for an update he found Draco literally hitting his head off of his desk.

"Still no progress?" Harry asked in amusement.

"Fuck all," Draco muttered irritably.

Harry hummed thoughtfully, "My team aren't working on any new cases at the moment. Maybe we should pull together on this one."

"That's a good idea," Daphne said.

"Our collective brain power has always worked well in the past," Theo agreed.

Harry grinned, "Then I'll go gather the troops."

* * *

"Alright class. Here is your first lesson in how to catch a serial killer," Harry grinned as he waved his wand and conjured up a giant white board. He turned to Neville, "Pen, Nev."

Neville chuckled and pulled a whiteboard pen from his pocket and threw it to Harry, who caught it deftly and pulled off the lid.

"So, here is what we know about our victims. There have been 5 of them, the 1st was Elizabeth Sheppard, 28 years old, a half-blood who worked in the wizarding library in London."

The others watched as Harry stuck her picture onto the board and wrote her name and age, followed by how she was killed, "Cause of death, several knife wounds to the chest, apparent suicide."

Neville smiled slightly as he walked forward, "Victim #2 was Richard Beckett. 32 years old, a Muggle-born, experimental potions brewer. Cause of death, asphyxiation. Found with a rope around his neck, apparent suicide."

The picture of Richard Beckett went up next to Elizabeth Sheppard's, with all the information inputted underneath. Draco stepped forward next and picked up the photograph of the third victim, "Victim #3 John Holmes. 45 years old, pure-blood, private detective. Cause of death was Avada Kedavra, his wand was lying next to him so the coroner assumed that it was suicide."

Harry glanced to the rest of the team, wondering who would take up the next victim. Ron walked forward and pinned the picture to the board, "Victim #4 Clarke Blake, 22 years old, Muggle-born. Researcher for the prophet, the coroner said the cause of death was probably suicide. She was found on the street after having jumped from a four-story building."

Harry nodded thoughtfully and looked to the others, Daphne, Theo, Eddie, Dana and Harrison. There was only one victim left, and Daphne stepped forward to grab the photograph. She pinned it up and began to write, "Victim #5 Damon Gilbert, 36 years of age, half-blood. He was an assistant researcher for a freelance medical company. Cause of death was reported as an overdose on pain potions, the coroner called it suicide."

"Alright," Harry said as he clapped his hands together and pushed himself onto Draco's desk, "So, connections?"

"They all killed themselves, apparently," Theo said.

"But that does seem to be the only one," Dana frowned, "The usual patterns can't be followed. There are men and women, of all ages, and blood status, all in different sorts of jobs."

"The jobs are different," Draco said as he stared at the board, "But they do all have one thing in common."

Harry smiled slightly, "And what is that, Malfoy?"

"They are all relatively unimportant. A freelance researcher, a researcher for the prophet, a private detective, an experimental potions brewer and a librarian. They work for themselves, people wouldn't miss them, they don't work for the Ministry so their disappearances could easily go unnoticed."

"Until the bodies were found," Harry agreed, "Precisely. So, my next question is, what kind of people have apparently unassuming quiet jobs to draw attention away from what they _really_ do?"

"People who don't want to be noticed," Neville said slowly, "People who are trying to blend in."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"That depends on what you think I'm saying," Harry said with a raised eyebrow.

"Someone is picking off people who work in the Department of Mysteries," Draco said.

Harry nodded, "It looks that way, doesn't it?"

"Hang on a minute," Daphne said, "If people in the DOM were dying, wouldn't we know about it? Wouldn't they tell us?"

"No," Theo said, "Because the DOM is totally secret. Even top secret Auror security clearance won't gain you access to the DOM, it's got its own level of security clearance. They don't have to disclose to anyone who their employees are, and by telling the Aurors they would be giving away confidential information."

Harry looked impressed as he nodded, "That is exactly right Theo."

"But why would someone be killing DOM employees?" Eddie asked with a frown.

"That's the fun of a murder board Eddie," Harry said, "We have our connection, the DOM. However, what we know about our killer is very little. We have no idea what he looks like, or what his real name is, we just know that he calls himself the Puppet Master. So, we need to find out who he is. Before we know who he is, we can't know what his motive is."

"Well he calls himself the Puppet Master because he controls people. None of these apparent suicides actually are suicides," Draco said simply, "I'd recognise the Imperius Curse any day, he's forcing them to kill themselves."

"Which means the only murder weapon is his wand," Neville said, "Because the only people touching the things they kill themselves with, are the victims."

"It's almost the perfect murder," Daphne breathed.

"There's no such thing," Harry and Neville said simultaneously.

Ron chuckled, "No, because there is still a trace of magic left from the imperius curse. Not enough to trace his wand, but enough to match it if we can arrest him."

"Therefore not the perfect murder," Harry said.

"So where do we go from here?" Draco asked, "We can't find out anything about the victims from the DOM. Like Theo said, it's top secret and we have no leads on the killer."

"Unless you have an informant," Harry said with a grin, "I'll see what I can find out from the DOM."

Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry, "You have an informant, in the DOM?"

"Of course Malfoy," Harry smirked, "Why do you keep insisting on underestimating me?"

Without waiting for an answer from Draco, Harry left, his brown robes swishing behind him as he descended the stairs.

"I can't believe I didn't realise he was gay earlier," Eddie said with a shake of his head, "He's sassy as hell."

Neville grinned at that comment, "I'll pass that one on, I'm sure it will amuse him."

Draco shook his head in amusement, "Where did he learn all of that stuff about connections on a murder board and motives and everything?"

Neville chucked, "Once we were established Aurors he asked Kingsley if he could take a 6-month sabbatical to trail around after a Muggle detective. He told her he was writing a book, which was true because when he came back he re-wrote the Auror handbook."

"Seriously?" Daphne asked in surprise.

Neville nodded, "Whether you lot see it or not, Harry's kind of a revolutionary around here. Those 6 months with the Muggle detective were so that we could combine Muggle and magical methods, and it works well doing that. That's why his team, when it was our team, was the best because we did that and it works. He's the youngest ever Head Auror for a reason, you know."

"I did think he was only head of department so young because of his fame," Draco admitted, "But the longer I've worked with him the more my perception has changed. He's a fantastic Auror, he just sees things, and I have no idea how."

"Years of experience," Ron said in amusement, "That's all he did, his whole life, looked at clues and tried to work out who was behind things. Granted, most of the time while we were at school it was either Voldemort, Snape or you, but that's besides the point."

Daphne snorted in amusement, "Voldemort, Snape and Draco Malfoy. The tripartite of villains out to get Harry Potter."

Neville barked out a laugh, "That sounds pretty accurate."

Draco rolled his eyes, "I never wanted to kill Potter and I don't think Snape did either. I just didn't particularly like the guy."

"Yeah really, we'd never have guessed you didn't like him, or me, or Hermione," Ron said sarcastically.

Draco smirked, "I didn't like Potter back then but he's growing on me now, and I've been friends with Granger for a while now, as reluctant as she is to admit that. You however Weasley, I still dislike."

Ron snorted, "You think I like you Malfoy? Just because Harry thinks you're alright doesn't mean I like you."

"What about me?" Neville asked in amusement.

"I never had anything against you Neville," Draco said honestly, "I just couldn't be bothered with your awkward stumbling ways."

"Makes sense why you didn't like Harry at school then," Eddie grinned, "Talk about awkward. Every time he got anywhere near Cho he fell over something."

Ron grinned too, "Yeah I remember asking Harry how his first kiss with Cho was, and he just frowned and said it was wet."

The others laughed at this revelation, and Harry's amused voice said from the doorway, "Yes Ron, as awkward as my first kiss was I'm sure I can go one better on the embarrassment factor. For example do you remember when you asked Fleur to the Yule Ball, and you just shouted at her in the middle of the great hall?"

Everyone turned to Draco in surprise as he unexpectedly let out a loud hearty laugh, "I remember that," He said through his laughter as he rested his head on the table and continued to chortle to himself.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the Slytherin and Ron's cheeks and ears turned pink, "Yeah alright Harry, you win."

Harry smiled, "Anyway, you lot it's back to work. Neville, Draco, Daphne, I need you to come with me."

Draco looked up, and opened his mouth to ask why. But Harry just shook his head slightly, "Remember that chat we all had about knowing who the senior figure at work is. I need you three to come with me, no questions asked."

"Alright," Draco said. He gave Daphne a slight nod, as if to signal that he was okay-ing this plan of action.

Harry turned to the others, "We'll be back as soon as we can, hopefully with some new information. If you guys can just keep digging for anything useful that would be much appreciated."

This suggestion was met with nods, so Harry left the room and the others followed him. They were silent as they walked in the direction of the nearest apparition point, and heeded Harry's orders of the co-ordinates to which they were apparating. When they arrived in an apparently ordinary Muggle street they didn't question why, and within minutes the houses moved apart to reveal Harry's home, Grimmauld Place. This was no secret for Daphne of course, who had stayed over with Neville several times, but Draco was surprised and intrigued as the house came into view. Once they were inside the narrow entrance corridor with its white wallpaper and golden lamps, Harry spoke.

"We can talk now that we're inside," He said, "I'm assuming you've guessed why I've brought you here."

Draco nodded as he, Daphne and Neville followed Harry towards the largest living area on this floor, "I'm assuming you've brought us here because the informant is here."

"Indeed I have," Harry said as they entered the living room.

"So who is-" Draco begun to ask.

He stopped when they entered the living room, everyone froze in shock, Neville included.

"Blaise Zabini?!"

* * *

The occupants of the room were silent and the air was tense. The man of interest was Blaise Zabini, who was leaning against the fireplace, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"Zabini," Draco said in disbelief.

"Malfoy," Blaise said smoothly, as his eyes scanned them all, "Longbottom."

His eyes fell on Daphne, who looked incredibly pale as she stared at him.

"Daphne."

Daphne swallowed and walked towards him. She stopped in front of him and cleared her throat, "Blaise," she practically hissed.

It came as no surprise when her hand collided with his face, he barely flinched at the hard slap, the sound of which had echoed throughout the room.

Instead he just opened his mouth a couple of times to stretch it off, "And what did I do to deserve that?" He asked calmly.

"You made me think you were dead!" Daphne shouted, "You made me think that I had killed you! How could you do that after everything we went through? How could you be alive this whole time?"

"Daphne, it had to be this way-"

Daphne spun angrily on her heel and looked at Harry scathingly, "You knew?" She practically screamed, "All of these years we've been working together, we've been friends, and you knew how much it killed me. You knew how much I resented what I'd done and you _never_ told me!"

"I couldn't-"

"I suppose you knew too Draco!" Daphne shouted, she was beginning to get hysterical, "I suppose you all knew and you've all been keeping it-"

"Petrificus Totalus."

The quick, casual spell that had Daphne lying on the floor, had surprisingly enough come from Neville's wand. He sighed, as he slipped it back into his holster, "I didn't want to do that, but we have a job to do, and a serial killer to catch."

"She'll understand," Harry said with a guilty glance to her immobile body.

Draco snorted, "You'll be lucky," He said, his eyes were still fixed on Blaise. They had been since they entered the room, "How are you still alive?"

"That's not important right now," Harry said, irritation slipping into his voice, "I didn't say anything at the office because I wasn't sure it was secure. But another victim showed up, just before I came back into the basement."

"A 6th victim?" Neville asked in surprise.

Harry nodded, "Camille Goodman, 26 years old, pure-blood."

"Let me guess, she worked in the DOM," Draco said dryly.

"Yes, she did," Blaise replied as his dark eyes fixed themselves on Draco's, "They all did."

"We suspected as much," Harry admitted, "But we don't understand why Blaise. What is it about these people? Do they work in the same sub-section of the DOM?"

"No," Blaise replied, "They worked in different sections. However, they did all specialise in similar areas of magic."

"And those areas were?" Draco asked sarcastically.

"3 of them specialised in mind magic," Blaise replied, "They worked on topics such as how to reverse the effects of the cruciatus curse, and how to restore the memories of those who have suffered from the effects of badly cast memory charms. Of the other 3, 2 specialised more specifically in mind control magic, Legilimency and Occlumency, and the various means that it could be used for. The final specialised in brain magic, he was theorizing ways to grow new brains, he worked in conjunction with those that were studying the cruciatus curse."

Harry was frowning as Blaise said this, all in a very slow drawl, reminiscent of the way Severus Snape had taught Potions, "Okay, answer me one question. The two that worked on mind control magic, did they have anything to do with the cruciatus curse project?"

"Yes," Blaise replied calmly, "They attempted to integrate new memories, to erase those of the torture."

"Did anyone else work on this project?" Harry asked.

"Only myself," Blaise replied.

"Well it's a good thing everyone thinks you're dead then, because I think that project is the thing linking the victims together," Harry said honestly.

"Whoever is doing this knows that he isn't dead," Neville pointed out, "To know that they were all working on this project, the murderer must work in the DOM."

"That is not possible," Blaise replied, "I know because we entertained the possibility ourselves. However, we reviewed all of the observation charms, and trust me, in the DOM they cannot be altered. All of workers were in the department at the time of all 5 murders that we were aware of at the time."

"Who else knew about that project?" Neville asked quickly.

"Only yourself, Potter," Blaise said smoothly, "We discussed it twice, while I was informing to you."

"Well I'm not the bloody murderer," Harry said in disbelief as the others turned to look at him, "Blaise, where did we have those conversations?" He asked as he raked his brain.

"Once in your office, and the second time on your balcony," Blaise replied.

"Anyone can hear and see anything on that balcony," Neville said darkly, "The amount of times I've walked past on my way out and heard you and Draco reminiscing about Hogwarts."

"But my office is secure," Harry said, "So whoever overheard must have been very close at the time. This was only, 2 weeks ago?"

"Yes, I remember the date, it was a Wednesday evening."

"Wait," Draco frowned, "Access to the DMLE isn't easy to come by. You can't just sneak your way in, even my team have to undergo a fingerprint, retina, and voice recognition check before entering or exiting from the elevators or one of the apparition points."

"Yes, I'm aware of that," Harry said, "I designed the security protocols."

"But Potter, that means that whoever is doing this works in the DMLE," Draco said in disbelief.

"Hadn't you worked that out, Draco?" Neville asked in surprise, "That was why Harry didn't want to talk in the basement. The murderer is a dirty Auror, he could be listening to any conversations in the department, he could have rigged all of our offices and team bullpens for all we know."

"And we're not at all worried about that?" Draco asked in surprise.

"No," Harry replied with a slight smile, "It isn't entirely uncommon. Before the DMLE underwent the 'purge' after I got some authority there, there were a lot of dirty Aurors from the old days who thought they could do whatever they wanted. Most of them were fired, during the purge, but some slipped through our fingers. Granted, none of them have been serial killers, but the fact an Auror is behind this does make sense. He knows our methods, he knows how we work."

"Which means he knows how to get away with it," Draco realised.

"Almost," Neville said, "If this conversation between Harry and Blaise happened two weeks ago then the system logs won't have been wiped yet."

"So thanks to the fingerprint, retina and voice recognition checks, we can check who was in the building after 6pm that night," Harry said.

"That will still be a pretty big list," Draco pointed out, "We're Aurors, we all work late all of the time."

"I know," Harry said, "But the victims were all looking for a way to reverse the effects of the cruciatus curse. That means it's very likely that our killer, or someone close to him, has been affected by the curse, which will be in their file."

"Of course," Draco said as it all clicked into place in his head.

"And you need me," Blaise said as his eyes snapped to Harry's, "Because I'm supposed to be the 7th victim. Once you identify the killer, you need bait."

"Yes," Harry said calmly, "We do."

Blaise only nodded.

"We're using him as _bait_?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"We have no choice," Harry said curtly, "And we won't let him die. Don't argue Neville, it's an order from Susan."

Neville sighed and glanced towards Daphne, "She's going to hate this, she's going to _kill_ us."

"I expect she'll try, yes," Harry said darkly, "But there isn't another way. We have to act normally, and we can't tell the rest of the team about this. I trust them, and I'm sure you trust your team as well Malfoy. But the less people know about this the more chance we have of catching the Puppet Master."

Draco nodded, "I understand."

"You and I have to get back to the Ministry and subtly start working on those logs, we've got to know who was in the DMLE that night. I'm leaving Daphne here with you, Blaise," Harry said, "I think you two have some things you ought to work out. But I've got to leave someone else here so you don't kill each other, and I really need Malfoy back at the Ministry with me…"

"You're leaving me to babysit my girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend who she thinks she killed?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so Neville," Harry said, with the hint of amusement in his voice as he walked towards the door with Draco hot on his heels.

The taller man looked incredibly irritated but he kept his mouth shut, because he didn't want to offend his 'boss'. When he reached the doorway Harry paused and turned to Blaise, "Just one last question Blaise, do you experiment on people in the DOM?"

With no mercy Blaise nodded, "Yes."

Harry sighed, "That's what I thought," He mumbled as he stepped into the hallway with Draco.

"Why is that significant?"

"Let's just say that I have a hunch," Harry said darkly, "And I really hope that it's not right…because if it is…well, this might be the toughest case I'll ever work."

* * *

As the front door of Grimmauld Place snapped shut, Neville turned to Blaise somewhat awkwardly.

"So, you and Daphne," Blaise said simply.

Neville narrowed his eyes at the former Slytherin, "What about us?"

Blaise shook his head and surveyed Neville with interest, "I'm just intrigued."

Neville instantly felt Blaise begin to get under his skin, so he sighed and glanced to Daphne, "I think I should let her out of the bodybind. Harry's right, you two clearly have some issues to work out."

"Indeed," Blaise said calmly.

"I'll be outside," Neville said, "And there are anti-apparition wards covering this whole house so-"

"Don't leave the country?" Blaise smirked.

Neville shook his head and walked to the door, "You're still an arse, Zabini," He said as he undid the bodybind and promptly left before Daphne exploded. He didn't place a silencing charm on the room and Blaise didn't either. So as Neville sat down against the wall in the corridor he could hear everything that was going on in the room through the wall. For a second he had the thought that Blaise _wanted_ him to hear, and for a moment he thought that was ridiculous, but then he remembered that this was Blaise Zabini and that was probably exactly why he hadn't put up any silencing charms.

* * *

"I can't believe you would lie to me that way," Daphne said coolly as she stared Blaise down.

Blaise didn't blink, "You were going to kill me anyway. You can't have missed me too much."

"Do you really not understand?" Daphne asked coldly, "Do you really not know what killing you did to me?"

"You don't seem any different to me," Blaise said calmly.

"Don't I?" Daphne hissed, "Because I am. Do you how many men I've killed Blaise?"

"Nearly as many as you've shagged from what I hear," Blaise remarked bitterly.

"Well you can't complain," Daphne bit back, "It's your fault, all of it is your fault."

"And how exactly is it my fault?" Blaise asked with a raised eyebrow.

Unshed tears brimmed in Daphne's eyes, "You were all I had Blaise. My parents didn't want me, and my sister hated me…and Draco…Draco was so busy feeling sorry for himself and his suicidal parents that he was no use to anybody! I let you get away with terrible things, because I loved you and I couldn't afford to lose you! But you set me on such a terrible path in life Blaise, I was stuck at Sally's for years and I'm just getting my life back on track now, all because of you!"

"I'm sorry Daphne," Blaise said, his voice even quieter than before, "I was a terrible person. I did terrible things and I pushed you into terrible things. I should never have told you to work for Sally, and I shouldn't have let you think that you killed me. I just needed to stop. I needed out. You knew what it was doing to me, it was making me into the same alcoholic, out of control bastard that my Father was."

"So you couldn't have just told me that?" Daphne asked angrily, "Because I would have left, I would have left Britain for you, I would have left Europe. I'd have done _anything,_ I'd have gone _anywhere_ with you."

"You were a part of that life," Blaise said as he tore his eyes away from hers, "As much as that was my fault. I had to leave all of it behind me. I had to wipe the slate clean and start anew."

"So you let me believe that I had murdered you?" Daphne asked as the tears she had been holding back began to fall, "You let me become the monster that your Mother was?"

Blaise's eyes remained on the floor, "I didn't make you a monster. You were the one who wanted to kill me. You made the monster yourself."

"No, Blaise," Daphne said as the hot tears poured down her face, " _You_ made this monster. Do you really think I would think that my body was all I had to offer if you hadn't sold me to your sick friends whenever things got tough? Do you really think that it wasn't you who made me think that sex was the only way to get what I wanted, when you taught me for years that it was just that?"

"But you offered to do that," Blaise said in disbelief.

"No! I didn't!" Daphne shouted as she finally snapped, "When I told you I would do anything to help you I meant I would help you get sober. I meant I would help you get clean and get a job. But you took that to me that I would prostitute myself to your friends so you could buy more alcohol, or more drugs! You practically sold me to Sally before I snapped and killed you! How can you be surprised about what I did? How can you say that I consented when you had to use the _imperius curse?_ "

Blaise opened his mouth to object further. But he never got a chance to get any words out because he was knocked back into the fireplace by a blasting curse. Daphne wiped her tears in frustration as Neville walked into the room, he seemed taller somehow and he was very, very angry.

"How _dare_ you treat someone like that?" Neville asked hotly as he towered over Blaise, "How dare you think you can just do whatever the hell you want to someone? Just because you were in a relationship doesn't make it okay, it doesn't mean that you _owned_ her. But then again that's how you pureblooded bigots think, isn't it?"

Blaise was silent, as Neville placed his foot on his throat, "Unspeakable or not, that's at least 10 years in Azkaban, and you know it."

"What are you going to do Longbottom, kill me?" Blaise asked calmly.

Neville shook his head, he smirked, "No, I wouldn't give you the mercy of a quick death. I'd much rather you suffered in Azkaban with all those insane Death Eaters. Azkaban is so full of them that the cells have to be shared these days you know. Those sick bastards will do _anything_ for kicks, and wouldn't it be nice to see you suffer like you made Daphne suffer?"

Blaise's eyes flashed with fear, and Neville pressed his foot into the man's throat, "I'm sure they would make you suffer more than I ever could."

"Neville, don't kill him," Daphne said quietly.

Neville removed his foot from Blaise's throat, "Don't worry, I won't kill him just yet. We need to use him first."

"You wouldn't kill me anyway Longbottom," Blaise said smoothly as he got to his feet, "You're an Auror."

"An Auror who got suspended for killing a Death Eater, and castrating him first," Daphne said with a smirk, "So don't let that quell your fears Blaise."

Blaise paled considerably, and Neville looked a little too smug as he stunned the Slytherin.

"You didn't need to knock him out," Daphne said.

"I know, but it made me feel better," Neville said honestly, as his eyes met hers.

"Don't ask me to explain, don't ask me to talk about it, you know that I can't," Daphne said, her voice so quiet he had to strain to hear her.

"I won't," Neville said softly, "But I'm here, if you ever do need to talk about it."

Daphne nodded, but remained silent.

Neville surveyed her, "Fancy a cup of tea?"

It was so ordinary, so out of the blue, and such a difference from the heavy conversation. It made Daphne smile, "I'd love one," She said weakly as she accepted the hand he held out to her, and walked with him to the kitchen.

* * *

"Alright Draco," Harry whispered as they finished cups of pretty mediocre coffee at a dive of a café on Tottenham Court Road, "I have a plan for when we go back."

"Okay, what are we doing?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow, "Because you only call me by my first name when you think I'm dying, or when you think you're dying, or when we're doing something dangerous which involves the possibility of death."

Harry rolled his eyes, "It's not dangerous, but it is serious. When we get back, I have a plan. I can't tell you what it is but you have to follow me and do whatever I say. When we get back we can't talk, because we could be overheard anywhere in the department. You can't question me, you're just going to have to trust me."

"Easier said than done, Potter," Draco drawled.

Harry narrowed his eyes at the blonde, "Draco, in the whole time we've worked together, when have I actually done anything to make you not trust me? I've been honest with you, I've been straight with you. I've never done anything to make you mistrust me. If anything you are the one I shouldn't trust, you're the slimy little git who was always skulking around at Hogwarts."

"Coming from the guy who had an invisibility cloak, spied on people in bathrooms and stalked them on a creepy map?" Draco asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

Harry smiled slightly, "Alright, fair point. But do you promise that you'll do what I say?"

"Yes, I promise," Draco said.

"Good," Harry said as he got to his feet, "We better get a move on then."

They left the café and apparated into one of the quieter apparition points in the DMLE. It was empty so Harry gripped Draco's arm and pointed to the ventilation shaft above them. With non-verbal magic Harry blasted the cover off, and indicated that he would need a shove to get into the vent. Draco rolled his eyes and mouthed something that looked like 'midget' as he let Harry climb onto his shoulders to pull himself into the vent. Draco just jumped and caught the edges then pulled himself in easily. Once they were inside the ventilation shaft it began to get very hot and as they crawled through the small tunnels they very quickly became soaked to the skin with sweat. It was easier for Harry who was that bit shorter, but they both had seekers builds so they still moved quickly. Every so often Harry stopped and peered through a vent, and eventually they appeared to have reached their destination. It was clear they had to sneak to avoid tipping off the dirty Auror, if he knew that they knew then their plan was ruined.

When they jumped down from the vents they were in a small room, not much bigger than a broom cupboard at Hogwarts.

"We can probably talk now," Harry whispered, "There are no observation charms in here."

"Where are we?" Draco asked in a whisper as he looked around the walls. There were hundreds of small phials stacked into the walls.

"The storage log," Harry muttered, "Each phial is an hour. Once placed in a pensieve it tells us everyone who was in the department in that hour, and whether they entered or left within that hour."

"So we need the phial for 6pm to 7pm for the Wednesday before last," Draco mumbled.

"Yes, but we'll also need 5pm to 6pm so we know what was going on before," Harry whispered, "They're numbered so…here…Wednesday…"

"5pm…6pm," Draco said as he pulled them out and handed them to the Gryffindor.

Harry slipped them into his pocket, "Perfect. Now I'll need a hand to get back up into-"

He stopped when a whirring noise sounded above them.

"What's that?" Draco asked quietly.

"That's the air vents being cleaned out," Harry said as he caught Draco's eye, "Which means all the air is being sucked from them, and replaced."

"How long does that take?" Draco asked as he glanced towards the door.

"An hour," Harry muttered, "We aren't getting out of here the way we got in. We're going to have to use the door."

"But people will see us," Draco muttered, "We'll alert the killer."

"No we won't," Harry said, the cogs in his head whirring, "I have a plan but…are you still promising to go along with whatever I say?"

Draco nodded, "I promised I would, didn't I?"

"Alright," Harry murmured, "Push me back into the wall."

"Why?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because we need to make a noise, don't ask why, you promised you would trust me. Just do it," Harry said firmly.

"Fine," Draco said, and he took a step forward and pushed Harry into the wall. The phials tinkled, and clinked together, and they heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming towards the room. Draco was completely stunned when Harry grabbed his face and kissed him, pulling him closer towards himself. He wanted to pull away and ask Harry what the hell kind of plan this was, but he had promised to trust him and do as he said, so he remained silent and tried to pretend he _wasn't_ enjoying the kiss.

The door burst open, and a fairly young man barged in, making them break apart "What do you think you're doing snooping around in - oh, Head Auror Potter, it's you sir."

Harry cleared his throat, "Oh, Williamson. Very good reaction time on this drill, if it was a break in we'd certainly have caught the thief. I'll report this to your superior."

"You are my superior sir," Williamson said as his eyes scanned Harry and Draco, and their slightly ruffled hair and clothing.

"Of course," Harry said with a nod, "Well, in that case. Fantastic job. Don't you think, Auror Malfoy?"

"Definitely, Head Auror Potter," Draco said smoothly.

Harry cleared his throat again, "We really ought to get back to work, Malfoy. Fantastic work Williamson, fantastic work," He said as they passed the young Auror and exited the room into the empty corridor outside.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as they walked back to their own offices, but Draco caught up with him and glared at him, " _What_ was that?"

"It was my plan, and it worked," Harry said calmly.

"You call that a plan?" Draco asked under his breath.

"I didn't hear any objections, Malfoy," Harry smirked.

"I was just following orders, _sir_ ," Draco drawled.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "I could get used to this, normally you refuse to accept that I'm actually your boss," He said as they stepped into the back corridor of the DMLE.

"Don't feel honoured Potter," Draco said as they walked down the stairs into the basement where the rest of the team were working away. They all looked up when Harry and Draco walked in, their robes were no longer ruffled, but Draco's hair was still a little out of place.

"What happened to you two?" Theo asked in amusement.

"Undercover stuff," Harry said with ease, "Anyway, did you get anything new on our killer?"

"Nothing," Ron sighed.

"Did you have any more luck than we did?" Eddie asked hopefully.

"I wish I could say yes, but our leads were complete duds. It's getting well into the afternoon now though, do you lot fancy lunch?" Harry asked as he glanced at the clock.

"That depends, are you buying?" Harrison asked.

"Of course, it's my treat," Harry said.

"So long as we don't have to go back to that horrendous café on Tottenham Court Road," Draco said distastefully, "The coffee tasted like goblin piss."

"How do you know what goblin piss tastes like?" Eddie asked as the others sniggered.

"No wonder you were terrible at Potions Eddie," Draco said in amusement, "You do actually have to taste the raw ingredients before you add them to make sure they haven't gone off."

"Seriously?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah," Theo frowned, "No wonder you were dreadful at Potions."

"Apart from in 6th year," Draco said with a frown, "How _were_ you so good then?"

Harry and Ron shared a grin, and Harry said cryptically, "I had a little help, from the half-blood prince."

Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry as everyone began to gather their coats to head out for lunch, he muttered under his breath, "I know that's Severus's nickname, we'll be talking about this later."

"Will we?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Draco said smoothly, "We will."

"Alright then," Harry said loudly, "What will it be, Chinese buffet lunch or Italian?"

"Potter, just take us somewhere and feed us," Theo complained as his stomach rumbled.

"Chinese, definitely mate," Ron said as they all ascended the stairs together.

* * *

Blaise had woken up, and had not said a single word since doing so. He had simply sat in an armchair and stared Neville down. Daphne was in the kitchen, and had been since Neville had given her a pot of tea.

"You're keeping something from us Zabini," Neville stated.

"You know how my deal with Potter works," Blaise said evasively.

"No, I don't. How does your deal work?"

"I do not simply give information away, he asks me questions, and I answer them," Blaise said smoothly.

Neville narrowed his eyes at the man, "Do you think this is fun? Is this just a game to you?"

"Of course it's a game Longbottom," Blaise said with a slight smile, "What else could it be?"

"Oh I don't know, people's lives," Neville said darkly.

Blaise just chuckled, "If you think I'm hiding something just ask me."

Neville was thoughtful for a moment, "Harry knew you were keeping something from us. That was why he asked you if you experimented on humans in the DOM…who do you experiment on?"

"Humans," Blaise shrugged, "I don't know if they are Muggle or magical. They don't have names, just numbers."

"Alive or dead?" Neville asked coolly.

"Both," Blaise replied.

"And you don't learn their names you give them _numbers_?"

"I never said it was _ethical_ Longbottom."

Neville glared at the Slytherin, "Do you kill them?"

"Occasionally the testing kills them," Blaise replied calmly.

"And do you torture them?"

"We use them to conduct our tests," Blaise said, "Sometimes it can inflict pain."

Fury flashed in Neville's eyes and he fought to contain it, "Did you test on humans for the cruciatus curse project?"

"Yes," Blaise replied.

"How many people did you torture?" Neville asked angrily.

"There were four test subjects," Blaise said.

"Were?" Neville asked.

Blaise nodded, "Two women, and two men. Patients 0, 1, 2, and 3."

"How many are there now?" Neville asked slowly.

"Two," Blaise said, "One of the women died, and one of the men escaped."

"Escaped from the DOM?" Neville asked in disbelief, "That's not an easy thing to do, trust me I tried."

"Yes, I am aware of that," Blaise drawled, "The treatment made him strong, he killed two workers in a violent rage and escaped through the ventilation system. It drops out into the sewers, once he got that far our people could not find him in the maze of tunnels."

"So you decided that wasn't important information that we should possibly know about?" Neville asked irritably, "The fact that you tested your cure on someone, against their will, in the DOM and that person escaped? You realise that this man is probably our killer, don't you?"

"I'm afraid that's not really my division," Blaise said calmly.

"I fucking hate you Zabini," Neville cursed as he got to his feet, "What was this man's name?"

"Patient 0."

"His _real_ name Zabini!"

Blaise smirked, "I told you Longbottom, they do not have names, only _numbers_."

Daphne walked into the room, the noise had drawn her there, "What's going on?"

"Your idiot ex only neglected to hand over the most vital information possible about the case," Neville said angrily, "So I have to pass this _vital_ information onto Harry," He added as he slapped his communication bracelet a little too violently.

* * *

Harry's treat of lunch had been a ruse to lure the two teams into the depths of Muggle London so that he could fill them in on the case. He and Draco did so, leaving out the vital information about the identity of the informant. However, they did fill them in on the 6th victim, and the fact the killer seemed to be a dirty Auror, and on the fact they had acquired the phials they needed. They had decided to head back to Grimmauld Place and work from there. Before they had finished their lunch however Harry's communication bracelet buzzed, and he cast a muffliato charm so that the Muggles around them wouldn't hear the communication.

" _That_ _ **arsehole**_ _informant of yours is a fucking prick. I'm sick of his games, so you better be coming back here soon Harry. I just wrangled some pretty vital information out of him. They were experimenting on humans for the cruciatus curse project, four of them. One woman died, and a man escaped, he overpowered the guards and escaped through the sewage system. A dirty Auror isn't doing this Harry, he's just the informant for the real murderer. If he was suffering from the effects of the cruciatus curse and had been having some weird mysterious treatment the chances are he's a psychopath."_

Harry's eyes flashed with something that the others couldn't identify, "Understood Neville. Hide the informant, we can't have the rest of the team knowing his identity yet, and we'll be coming back to the house very soon. We'll be working from there, it's safer."

" _Will do. Hurry back. Longbottom out."_

Harry sighed, "Right, that's both good and bad news. We'll head when you've finished lunch, I'm just going out for some fresh air."

"By which you mean a cigarette, so I'm joining you," Draco said in amusement as he and Harry got to their feet.

Harry smiled weakly, and they left the restaurant to stand in the Muggle Street outside. Harry gave Draco a cigarette and let him use his lighter, because he could hardly light it with his wand in front of all of these muggles.

"Harry, something is going on here," Draco whispered as they smoked.

"Things must be serious, you're calling me by my first name," Harry joked weakly, echoing Draco's sentiment from earlier.

Draco's stormy eyes fixed themselves on Harry's, "Something more is going on here and you know it. We both know it. You asked Zabini about whether or not they experimented on humans, and you said you had a hunch."

"And now I'm even more sure it's right," Harry said, his eyes were darker than Draco had seen them for a long time.

"You know who the murderer is, don't you?" Draco asked in a whisper.

Harry had been staring at a fixed point across the street, but upon those words he turned to look at the blonde, "I think the man who escaped from the DOM was Frank…Frank Longbottom."

"Neville's Father," Draco breathed.

Harry gave a slight nod, "He's the Puppet Master."

* * *

"Did you know?"

"About Zabini?"

Daphne nodded, her icy eyes fixed on Neville's.

"No," Neville replied honestly, "I knew Harry had an informant, but I didn't know his identity. It's top secret, _we_ aren't even supposed to know."

"Hence why you just locked him in the basement so the team won't find out," Daphne sighed, they were in the drawing room awaiting the arrival of the remainder of the two teams.

"If I'd known I'd have told you Daphne," Neville said, "I couldn't have kept that from you."

"Yet Harry managed just fine, despite claiming to be my friend for the past 3 years," Daphne said coolly.

"Harry has a lot of secrets," Neville sighed, "I'm sure he keeps things from me too. I doubt anyone knows everything about him…hes too guarded."

"I'm still not going to forgive him for this," Daphne said firmly.

"That's your choice, but you've got to try and act normally or the team will know something is up," Neville pointed out.

Daphne nodded, "Don't worry Neville, if nothing else I'm a good actress."

Neville's eyes flashed angrily, "You're so much more than a body that some dickhead sold to his friends. You're more than a pretty face, more than an actress. You aren't pretty, you're _beautiful._ You're intelligent, witty, hilarious and compassionate. You're an amazing person, despite everything that's happened to make you a bad one."

"An amazing person?" Daphne asked weakly, "I'm a criminal Neville, I should be in Azkaban. I'm a murderer, so what if I didn't kill Blaise? I still killed the two men after him."

"Why did you try and kill Zabini?" Neville asked quietly.

Daphne's eyes went to the floor, "I couldn't take it anymore. He came in drunk, talking about how he needed some extra money and a couple of his old Death Eater connections were willing to pay for me…so I poisoned him and Draco found out. He took the bottle as blackmail. That's how he convinced me to join this team."

"And the two after Zabini?"

Daphne frowned slightly, "One of Blaise's 'friends'. He came to _collect_ me after I had killed Blaise, or at least after I thought I had. He had made bet which meant that after Blaise died the sleazebag thought I belonged to him. I fought him…and I was a better dueler than he was."

She stopped, and Neville knew she wouldn't go into any further detail. Daphne sighed, "And as for the other guy. I was using him to get his money, like I always do. I don't kill every man I sleep with, but I let people believe that because it scared them and that meant they stayed away from me. He got wise to what I was doing and he tried to kill me, I had the marks on my neck from his hands for months…my magic is already volatile, it has been ever since Blaise started…' she cleared her throat, "So it just sort of exploded, and he died."

"You do realise all of those murders are self-defence, don't you?" Neville asked calmly.

"Does that make it any better" Daphne asked quietly, "Because it doesn't in my head. I'm still a monster."

"If you think killing two men makes you a monster I dread to think what you think of me," Neville said, his eyes darkened, "Because I've killed 7 people. Two were Death Eaters, in the round up after the war. They tried to escape and I had no choice but to kill them. Those two I don't regret. But the others…"

"Who were they?"

"They were all in the line of duty," Neville said, "The worst one was a single mother with two small kids. She had killed three people, all men, all for money. She was living this lavish lifestyle with their cash. We caught her and she escaped as we were trying to bring her in for a second time. She started throwing killing curses at Harry and my stunners weren't getting through her shield charm, so I killed her."

"You were saving Harry."

"Maybe," Neville said, "But I still saw the faces of those two children afterwards. I took away their Mother and their faces still haunt me in the middle of the night."

"I'm sorry Neville," Daphne said quietly.

Neville shook his head, "It's my job, it's what I signed up for. It doesn't make it any easier, but that's just the simple fact."

"When you killed the man who tortured your parents, did you feel mercy?" Daphne asked.

"No," Neville replied honestly, "He tortured them for days. He used the curse and then let them heal, then he tortured them again and again. If anything I showed him mercy, he never showed my parents any, if he had then he would have killed them. I don't regret what I did at all."

"I wish I felt that way," Daphne said quietly.

Neville reached across to take her hand, to tell her that one day she might feel whole again. But he dropped it just as quickly when they heard the front door open with a loud snap downstairs. The team began to thunder up the staircase towards the drawing room.

When they were all gathered there Harry stood on one of the coffee tables to address the room, "So, acting on Neville's new intel that the murderer is an escaped patient from the DOM, we have to conclude that this is not a man working alone. Our dirty Auror is an informant, and possibly an accomplice in the deaths too. But if this guy can gather support from a dirty Auror then who knows who else he can get on his side. I've spoken to Susan, and we've been ordered to pull both of our teams together for this case. We don't know who this guy is, we don't know why he's doing this, and more to the point we have no idea where he is."

"So whats our plan of action?" Draco asked.

"Our plan of action is to split up," Harry said firmly, "Somebody needs to go and have a look around the sewers. This guy must have had a wand, he must have taken it from one of the workers he killed in the DOM. We need to check for magical residue, if he apparated away from there we might be able to get a rough idea of where he went from the residue. It's a technical job and it's a dirty job so I'm afraid it's on you two."

Theo and Eddie were expecting this, but they still didn't look thrilled.

"You want us to spend our afternoon in the ministry's sewage system?" Theo asked dryly.

Harry nodded, "Yes, it's a dirty job but someone has to do it. As for everyone else we need a trail on our dirty Auror. We need to know what he's doing, where he's going and more importantly who else he's working with. It's a two-person job, it requires glamour and stealth so I'm putting Draco and Daphne on it."

Daphne nodded, "Fine, that won't be a problem sir."

Harry sighed at the cold glare she had given him. Draco's eyes flashed, "Potter, I really think I'd be better suited here-"

"No Draco, I need you trailing the dirty Auror," Harry said firmly, "Of course you can't do that until you know who he is, so for the moment you two, along with Ron, Harrison and Dana, will be here working through those logs. Whoever he is, he's got to have some affiliation with the cruciatus curse, he's likely over 30 and he probably started working at the Ministry before the purge in 2001."

"What are we doing then?" Neville asked as his eyes snapped to Harry's.

"You'll be staying here working things out," Harry said, "And I'm going to question our informant. He knows more than what he told you, I'm sure of it. He knows this person's name, he knows their identity so I'm going to try and get it out of him."

"Torture it out of him, you mean," Neville said, "Which I have no issue with, by the way."

Harry sighed, "So get on with it everyone," He said as he jumped down from the table and walked into the hall. He was aware of Neville following him, but his old Auror partner didn't catch up with him until they hit the staircase.

"Harry," Neville said harshly as he grabbed Harry's arm on the landing, "Something more is going on here, something isn't right, I can feel it."

"Nothing's wrong, I just need to get a name from Zabini," Harry said under his breath.

"No you don't," Neville said as his eyes bore into Harry's, "We were Auror partners for 7 years, I know you better than anybody else on this earth. I know when you're hiding things and right now you know more than you're letting on. You said you would _try_ and get a name from Zabini, you never try, you just do. You should have said ' _I will get a name_ ' but you didn't, because you already know. Don't you?"

"Neville, we can't talk about this here," Harry said under his breath.

"So you do know," Neville said.

Harry nodded, "Yes, but we cannot discuss this here."

"Why not?" Neville asked.

"Because we just can't," Harry muttered irritably.

"Tell me _why_ ," Neville said in frustration.

"When I tell you this, you're going to want to kill me. You're going to want to duel me, and there's a fair chance you'll lose control of your magic," Harry said matter of factly, "We have to do that somewhere where the only person you can hurt is _me._ "

Neville frowned, "Why do you think I'm going to hurt you?"

"I don't think, I _know_ ," Harry said darkly.

"What the fuck have you done, Harry?"

"Just come with me Neville," Harry said as he pulled his arm out of Neville's grasp with ease and walked down the stairs. He knew, without really knowing how, that Neville would follow him. And he was right, they left the house, and when they were on the doorstep Harry held out his arm to his old partner.

"Where are we going, Harry?"

"Just take my arm," Harry said with a long-suffering sigh.

Neville did so, albeit reluctantly, and Harry apparated them into a clearing in the middle of a forest.

"We're in the middle of a small remote forest," Harry said as he sat down at one side of the clearing on a rock by a small lake.

"How bad is this if you're bringing me into the middle of nowhere?" Neville asked cautiously.

"I'll let you work it out for yourself Neville," Harry sighed, "Have a think. Who do you know who would have knowledge of Auror procedure?"

"An ex-Auror," Neville answered.

"Yes," Harry agreed, "But who do _you_ know who has had exposure to the cruciatus curse, and who is an ex-Auror?"

"Harry, no," Neville said, his voice icy and emotionless.

"Nev, it makes sense. You know it makes sense. You just don't want to-"

"No, Harry," Neville hissed, "They are _dead_. You know they are dead, you came to the funeral with me. You watched them being lowered into the _ground_!"

"I didn't see the bodies, and neither did you," Harry said quietly, "We heard they had died, and the next thing we knew they were in coffins at the morgue, sealed coffins, Neville."

"Are you trying to tell me," Neville said, his voice quiet and dangerous, "That the DOM took my parents, told me that they were dead, experimented on them, and now my Father has escaped and he's a serial killer?"

Harry frowned slightly, "Yes."

"Fuck you Harry," Neville practically growled as he pulled his wand from his holster, "Sectumsempra!"

Harry was far enough away that he could get a shield charm up with ease, and the curse simply bounced off, "Don't use my _own_ spells against me Neville. I know the counter curse, you see."

"It's not your spell," Neville hissed, "It was Snape's."

"And Snape's dead," Harry said calmly as he blocked an entrail expelling curse, and a beheading jinx, "And he was in love with my Mother, which makes him practically a Father figure, which therefore means I inherit his spells."

"It doesn't make them your spells!" Neville shouted as he sent a stream of boiling water in Harry's direction. With a wave of his wand he had turned it into ice and thrown it back at Neville who easily blocked it.

"Just do what you need to get this out of your system," Harry said as Neville's curses got darker, and more inventive. After several missed curses, Harry decided to do something, it was just after one of Neville's Sectumsempras got past his shield charm and sliced his left arm open. That was when he got pissed off and started on the offensive, as well as the defensive.

He wasn't trying to hurt Neville, he was trying to _stop_ him instead. So, he turned the ground beneath him to a swamp, but Neville emerged from it spluttering. After that he attempted to freeze him, but Neville's shield charm blocked the spell too quickly.

"How long have you suspected for?" Neville shouted angrily.

"Only since I asked Blaise about whether they experimented on humans," Harry replied honestly.

"And I bet you told the rest of the team."

"Only Malfoy," Harry said as he created a ring of fire around Neville.

Neville hissed in frustration and put out the fire, "Malfoy, of course you told Malfoy! Does he know yet? That you want to fuck him?"

"Don't be so crude Neville," Harry said calmly, "I only told him because he's the leader of your team, I felt he should know in case you got…volatile."

"Volatile?" Neville bit back, "I am not volatile!"

Harry strengthened his shield charm as Neville shot a very strong, very powerful blasting charm at him. He ducked, and the spell went over his head. It hit a tree, and there was a very loud bang, and a lot of smoke. The trees surrounding the clearing were set alight and within seconds they seemed to be surrounded by a wall of fire.

"Yes, that's a perfect example of _not_ being volatile," Harry said irritably as he drained the lake behind him and threw it into the sky above. It rained down, and covered the trees, and the ground, and subsequently Neville with water. The worst of the fire was put out, but the smoke still rose high into the air. Neville dropped to his knees on the marshy ground and began to sob. Harry sighed, he had expected it. Neville got angry very quickly and then came back to earth with a crash, he was very similar to Harry in that sense. He hissed as he muttered the counter incantation to Sectumsempra, to heal the wound on his arm which had been bleeding profusely for the majority of the duel. He was aware of how pale and shaky he was, but he had blood replenishing potions in his robes, and he took one as he walked over to Neville.

"You hurt, mate?" Harry asked gently.

"Not physically," Neville muttered darkly.

His face was stained with tears, and his entire body was shaking as Harry dropped down next to him and wrapped his arms around his friend, "I know this feels like the hardest thing in the world Neville. But we'll fix this, I promise."

"By fix you mean we'll kill him," Neville said, unable to look at Harry.

"Not unless we have no other choice," Harry promised as the smoke continued to rise, and the trees continued to crackle away.

* * *

When they eventually returned to Grimmauld Place it was nearing 5pm and only Dana, Harrison, and Ron were here. Theo and Eddie were clearly still searching the sewage system and Draco and Daphne were obviously trailing the dirty Auror now. Harry frowned when he saw Hermione working with Dana at the temporary work station they had set up by the fireplace.

"What are you doing here?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, "Hello to you too Harry."

"Sorry," Harry sighed as he walked towards her and kissed her on the cheek, "This case is just…it's a tough one Mione."

"I'll forgive you then," Hermione said softly, "I came by to see if I could find Theo. The basement is kind of abandoned."

"Yeah…this case…" Harry shook his head, "It's complicated. Theo's in the sewers, with Eddie."

"In the sewers?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

Harry nodded, "I know, it's this case…"

"Yeah, I get the point," Hermione said as her nose wrinkled up with worry, "What happened to you two?"

"Uh, we ran into some difficulties, following a lead," Harry lied, he was well aware of the badly sewn wound on his arm which was now seeping some disgusting yellow fluid, and both he and Neville had torn clothes, and some minor burns.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "Here, let me fix that properly," She said as she took Harry's arm.

He flinched slightly, "You'll need to use the Sectumsempra counter-curse, it's the only thing that will close it properly."

"Someone used Sectumsempra on you?" Hermione asked, her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Yes, I promise I will explain later," Harry said in a whisper, as Hermione cleaned the wound, and re-did the counter charm in a far neater way.

"It will scar without dittany."

"What's one more scar?" Harry joked weakly as he pulled his sleeve back down.

Hermione eyed him cautiously, but before she got a chance to question him any further the communication bracelet that she wore on her wrist buzzed. She frowned and looked down at it, "Three buzzes is an emergency," She mumbled as she hit the button.

" _Granger, it's Rogers. We've got a magical forest fire in the Forest of Dean. The wind is blowing away from the reserve at the moment but it's due to change in about 30 minutes. We've got to get it under control before the smoke blows in that direction."_

Hermione responded immediately, "Yes we do Rogers. That Niffler reserve was only built last month. I'll be there immediately; I'll meet you in the Forest of Dean."

She hit her bracelet to end the communication and looked up at Harry and Neville with a hard look in her eyes, "What the hell have you two done?"

"Hermione, please don't judge," Harry whispered as he made an effort to step in and 'hug' her. He whispered softly in her ear, "Neville's Father is the Puppet Master."

Surprise flickered in Hermione's eyes, but she gave him a small nod, "Alright. I have to get this fire under control. Let Theo know our date will have to wait."

"It was going to have to wait anyway," Harry sighed, "This case…"

"Yes I get the hint about this case," Hermione said as she kissed Harry on the cheek, "Take care of yourself and make sure Theo doesn't do anything stupid."

"Of course," Harry said with a forced smile as she stepped into the fire and disappeared. He glanced behind him to where the others were watching, Neville was silent and stood stoically at the other side of the room. Harry hit his communication bracelet.

"Theo, Eddie. Do you two read?"

" _Yes. We're just finishing up in the sewers,"_ Eddie's voice said.

"Any luck?" Harry asked.

" _Zilch,"_ Theo muttered, " _Hey has Hermione stopped by-"_

"She was just here," Harry said, "But she had an emergency at work, a magical forest fire. Your date was going to have to wait anyway, we've got a hell of a job back here. We know who he is, and if you can get back here as soon as possible we'll fill you in."

" _Will do boss,"_ Eddie said as he ended the communication.

Harry frowned and turned to Harrison, Ron and Dana, "Where are Draco and Daphne?"

"Trailing our dirty Auror," Ron replied, "We worked it out quickly enough. He's called Isaac Crane. His son killed himself after long-term exposure to the cruciatus curse. He's 45, became an Auror well before the purge. It fitted the criteria."

"How long have they been following him for?" Harry asked as he glanced to the clock.

"A good few hours," Dana replied.

"Well I'm going to have to pull them out, I need everyone for this mission," Harry muttered as he hit his bracelet, but put it into subtle mood, so that his voice would come out in Draco's ear, not out loud.

"Draco, I'm pulling you out."

" _Why?"_ Draco whispered, " _We've got a good trail on the guy."_

"And we have a giant arrest mission to launch," Harry said, "I _need_ everyone here, especially you and Daphne. Get back as soon as possible, or miss out on dinner."

" _Yes,_ _ **sir**_ _,"_ Draco said grudgingly as he ended the communication.

Harry sat down heavily in an armchair, this case was really testing his limits, and his friendships.

"Who is he, boss?"

"I'll tell you when everyone is back Dana," Harry said as he looked up, "Did you find out anything else while we were gone?"

"Nothing," Harrison replied, "Without his identity we were at a loss."

"I know," Harry said with a nod, "And we'll remedy that soon."

* * *

By the time everyone had gotten back to Grimmauld Place, Harry had ordered pizza. So they all reconvened in the kitchen around the large stone table. They all tucked in, but Harry and Neville didn't have much of an appetite.

"So you know who the Puppet Master is then," Draco said, after swallowing his mouthful of pepperoni pizza.

Harry nodded.

"Who is he?" Daphne asked.

"He is Frank Longbottom," Neville said, his tone once more devoid of all emotion.

Eddie frowned, "Your Father?"

"As far as I am concerned, I have no Father," Neville said coolly.

"You and me both," Draco mumbled.

"He was the person who escaped from the DOM," Harry said, "I spoke to my informant before you got back. He told me the whole story with a bit of prodding…Frank escaped from the DOM, but his wife Alice is still there, being experimented on. He's kidnapping the workers to find out how to get her back, he's probably looking for a way in. But Unspeakables are bound by an unbreakable vow, so they can't tell him which means he's killing them."

"He's okay then?" Theo asked carefully, "Because I thought chronic sufferers of the cruciatus curse would never heal."

"Well he's clearly in his own mind enough to kill people, and escape the DOM," Harry said, "My informant told me that the cure they were working on had side effects. At times the patients were entirely normal, just like their old selves…but sometimes they were psychotic."

"Sounds like Schizophrenia," Eddie commented.

"A wizarding version of it, yes," Harry nodded, "So Merlin knows what we're going to be dealing with. A bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I think."

"I have no idea what that means, but I assume it means bad," Draco said quietly.

Harry nodded, "I have a plan, which I want to put into place tonight. I know it's risky, but I think that it gives us the surprise attack factor. I have a way of finding out where he is, which I can't tell you about because it involves the informant so it has to be kept hush hush. But, once I know where he is I want everyone to run in."

"It will be a pretty equal fight," Draco said, "We saw our dirty Auror meet and talk in code with about 8 people today."

"We can handle it," Harry said firmly, "But this is going to be a dangerous mission, we know he's got at least one Auror on his side and he may have more. He was one of the best Aurors of his day too, it won't be an easy fight. Susan gave the shoot to kill order, so these people are _very_ dangerous."

"When do we go?" Dana asked.

"In about two hours," Harry said honestly, "So if you need to sort anything out, do it now."

There were a few nods, but only Harrison left the table. Harry pulled his eyes away from the junior Aurors retreating form and said, "Now, I need a word in private with you three."

He was looking to the only three people who knew about the informant, Neville, Draco and Daphne. They instantly knew what he was referring to, so they followed him into the basement which was sound proof, and had the strongest silencing charms and wards possible surrounding it.

Harry dropped a cardboard box in front of the Slytherin, "Dinner."

"Thank you for the _feast_ , Potter," Blaise drawled.

"Are you still willing to be our bait?" Harry asked.

"Despite the fact Longbottom tried to kill me earlier?" Blaise asked, "Yes."

"Good," Harry said, "Because my plan involves two forms of bait. You and-"

"Me," Neville finished.

"Yes," Harry said as he glanced at the man, "You're his son he'll-"

"He'll want to recruit me," Neville said darkly, "You want me to bring Zabini to him, don't you?"

"That's exactly what I had in mind," Harry admitted, "We'll put tracking charms on you both, and once he's taken you to wherever hes working from we'll all charge in."

"You realise it won't be that easy," Draco stated.

"People will get hurt," Harry agreed, "Yes, it's not an easy mission."

"Then why won't you be up front with them?" Daphne asked, "The rest of the team, they need to know."

"No, they don't," Neville said shortly, "All they need to know is that when Harry gives the signal they have to come to the place where we are, and arrest or kill Frank and his associates."

Daphne frowned, but didn't question this.

"Come on Daphne," Neville said, "I need someone to put a tracker in me."

Daphne made a face, she knew how to do it, but she had also seen how painful it was for the person receiving the tracker. But she nodded, and they left together.

"You think there's a spy," Draco said quietly when the door shut behind them. His icy blue eyes focused on Harry's green ones, which were currently far darker than normal.

"No," Harry lied, "I-"

"Yes, you do," Draco said firmly, "Don't treat me like an idiot Potter. You think one of the people up there is a spy."

"I have a hunch, and my last one turned out to be right," Harry muttered, "I just thought it was best if the more intricate details of the plan were kept secret."

"None of my team members are spies," Draco said hotly.

"I'm not saying they are!" Harry snapped, "But this is one of the toughest cases I've worked on because of all the personal stuff and I'm just being incredibly cautious, alright?"

Draco eyed Harry suspiciously, "Alright."

"I need you to take the lead on this mission, Draco," Harry said, "Neville can't, he's too involved. _Far_ too involved, and I have to find this spy before our entire plan blows up in our face. You are the smartest person here. You're the only other person I trust to keep everyone alive."

"That's a lot of pressure Potter," Draco said, they had completely forgotten that Blaise was watching them.

"I know," Harry sighed as he placed his hand on the blonde man's shoulder, "But you can do it, I know you can. You've surpassed my expectations in everything else you've done since you started working here, you just have to have a little faith in yourself, Draco."

Draco didn't respond to that comment, and Harry left the basement to gather the team upstairs.

"So, you and Potter huh?"

Draco frowned as he looked at Blaise, "What?"

"You heard me," Blaise smirked, "I mean it was obvious that you wanted him back when we were at Hogwarts. You were always talking about him but that was _years_ ago Draco. Yet you _still_ lust after him."

"You have no idea what you are talking about, Blaise," Draco hissed.

"Clearly I do, because I just hit a nerve," Blaise said as he leant against the wall and surveyed Draco.

"No, this case is stressful," Draco corrected him, "You didn't hit a nerve, and there is nothing between Potter and I."

"But you want there to be," Blaise said simply.

"No, I don't!" Draco snapped as he left the basement, slamming the door behind him for good measure.

* * *

The plan fell into place easily, _too easily._ Harry gave everyone their orders, and then left without telling anyone why. Draco was the only one who suspected that he was trailing their suspected spy.

Neville and Blaise left the house secretly and quietly. Nobody apart from himself, Draco and Daphne knew what Neville and the informant were doing however.

Neville followed Blaise's advice, that his serial killer of a Father was likely to be lurking outside of the homes of the victims, and as Blaise had also worked on the project he was going to become the next victim. It proved accurate because when they appeared outside of Blaise's London flat, there he was standing in the shadows. It wasn't Frank, it was the dirty Auror called Isaac. He stepped out of the shadows when he saw them and his hand twitched over the pocket where he kept his wand.

"Don't curse me," Neville said darkly, "I'm with you Isaac. Why else would I have brought you this piece of scum? I know who the Puppet Master is and I'd like to meet him. I'd like to meet my Father."

Isaac watched him for a moment before nodding, "He was hoping that this day would come…come with me."

He held out his hand to Neville and Neville took it while still keeping a tight grip on Blaise whose hands were bound behind his back and who had a silencing charm placed on him. They spun and when the sickening twirl of apparition ended they were standing by the gates of an old abandoned looking mansion. Neville's eyes flashed at the name above the gates, curled into the rusting metal.

"Longbottom."

"Did you not know that your family had a manor?" Isaac asked calmly as he opened the gates.

Neville tightened his grip on Blaise, "Well it's not like I ever had parents around to tell me. But my Grandmother didn't say anything."

"That would be because your Grandmother hated this place," Isaac said, "By the way, I was your Dads Auror partner, back in the day."

"I see," Neville said, "Why did my Grandmother hate it here?"

"She always said it was haunted, that it had a darkness about it," Isaac said as they walked through the overgrown mess of a garden, "When your parents got tortured and shoved in St. Mungo's she let it fall apart."

Neville wasn't surprised, his Grandmother was very superstitious. He was struck for a moment though, at how normal Isaac was and for the first time he was slightly afraid of the man in that building who called himself his Father. They reached the door and Isaac placed his hand on it, it instantly recognised him and swung open.

Isaac kicked it shut and smiled at Neville, "I'll take you to meet your Father," He said as he beckoned towards a door to the left, where a light was shining. They walked in, and there he was. Frank Longbottom. He was sitting in a chair in front of the fire, he was tall and far too skinny with mousy brown hair and deep brown eyes. But his eyes seemed darker and more distant than Neville ever remembered. Those eyes snapped to Neville the moment they walked in.

"I brought your final victim," Neville said as he stared into the eyes of a man he didn't recognise.

"Neville?" Frank asked, his voice weak and raspy, "Can that really be you?"

"It's me," Neville said, pushing Blaise forward.

"I never thought I would see you as a man," Frank said softly, "In my mind you were always a small baby. You're an Auror, yes?"

"Yes," Neville said as he tried to hold it together, "I never thought I'd get to see you sane."

Frank's lips quirked into a strange smile, "They cured me Neville."

"How?" Neville asked.

"Ah, that I can't tell you," Frank said slowly, "But your Mother would be so proud Neville…if only she could see you now…"

"Where is she?" Neville asked, his voice breaking slightly.

Frank's smile turned very suddenly into a frown, "She is…she would…she…"

His expression changed, he was still frowning, but he went from looking confused to looking angry. He looked like an entirely different person as his eyes burned into Neville's, "She would only have been ashamed to see you betray your Father in this way."

His voice was rougher and his eyes darker.

"Betray you?" Neville said, "I brought you Zabini!"

"I know that this is a trap, Neville," Frank said calmly, "I know that your friends will be here any minute to kill me. But they will not succeed, I have more friends than you think."

Neville frowned, "I don't know-"

A bang made him pause and Frank smirked slightly, "And that will be them now, I presume?"

Neville fixed his Father with a cold stare as the door burst open and the motley crew that he was a part of ran into the room. There were 'guards' stationed in the shadows of the room, and they all moved forward. Frank pushed himself to his feet, and Neville knew in that moment, as spells bounced and flew all around him, that he was going to have to be the one to duel his Father.

"THERE'S A SPY!" Neville shouted as the duel began, "ONE OF YOU IS A SPY, HE KNEW WE WERE COMING!"

Draco looked sharply at the others, throwing a killing curse at the man advancing on him. They were all involved in duels, all of them apart from Harrison who was slowly edging towards Frank.

"IT'S HARRISON!"

Those who weren't engaged in difficult duels immediately turned their attention to Harrison, and Ron was closest to him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Harrison?" Ron shouted, "He's not the great war Auror that you think he is!"

"That person is _dead_ Harrison!" Dana called, "He's a shell, and all that's left is the monster the curse made him!"

Harrison had frozen, halfway between Ron and Dana who were both engaged in duels, and Frank.

"He's a murderer, Harrison!" Ron shouted, "He killed _six_ people!"

Harrison swallowed, his hand curled around his wand and he turned to Frank who had been watching this unfold with some sick sense of interest.

"Avada-"

Before Harrison could get the words out, Frank flicked his wand in the Junior Aurors direction lazily and sighed, "Avada Kedavra."

The flash was bright and Dana screamed as Harrison's lifeless body hit the wooden floor with a loud, sickening thump. Draco didn't have time to feel sad, or guilty about the young Aurors death because he was almost instantly drawn into another duel and the duelist was far more competent than the last. By the time he had managed to injure the man badly enough to stun him, the room around him had descended into chaos. Harrison's body lay lifelessly some distance away, and now Dana, Theo and Eddie were all unconscious, with injuries of varying degrees. Ron was duelling on, despite the gash in his leg that was bleeding profusely, and Daphne's face was covered in cuts, but she was still fighting her corner.

As for Neville, he was duelling his Father. Lethal curses were being exchanged. Draco had already seen Frank nearly behead his son and attempt to blast him into the ground. They were both injured and Draco had the nerve to think for a moment that he seemed to be the only one who _wasn't._ It was at that point that he realised that 2 of the guards were slowly advancing on him.

He had never fought two people at once, the whole point of a duel was that it was _one on one_. He fought well, keeping a strong shield charm up while he sent the darkest curses he could think of in their direction. It mostly worked well, until one of them hit him with a knee reversing hex, which literally reversed his knee caps, and made him fall to the floor in agony, with no chance of getting up any time soon.

They continued to advance on him and Neville was disarmed by Frank. As Draco looked around at them all he couldn't think about anything apart from how completely screwed they were.

* * *

By the time Harry realised that Harrison was the spy, it was too late. He had dashed back into Grimmauld Place to find it empty. Panicking about the fate of his friends he had apparated to Longbottom Manor where he knew Frank to be.

Harry ran as fast as he could towards the house and then he forced his way through the door and practically blew up the wards in his haste. As the sparky remnants of the wards rained down on the house, the wooden parts of the roof were set alight. Harry didn't notice however; his mind was only focused on his friends as he ran into the drawing room.

When he reached it, things were desperate. Everyone was on the ground. Harrison was clearly dead with his wide eyes staring fearfully into the abyss. Harry's eyes flickered between Draco, with two men looming over him, and Neville, sitting against a wall trying to reach for his wand as Frank advanced on him.

Nobody had noticed his arrival yet so Harry played on this, 'Stupefy! Petrificus Totalus!'

That solved the problem of the two guards who had been advancing on Draco. And it also drew Frank's attention away from his son very briefly.

"Frank Longbottom, I presume."

"Harry Potter," Frank said as he surveyed Harry, "Just as brave and stupid as your Father, I presume?"

"Oh I reckon so," Harry said as he reached the man, "Why don't you duel me and find out?"

Frank smirked, "I will, once I've dealt with my son."

Harry's eyes were trained on his wand, which was still pointing at Neville's chest, but Neville could do wandless magic, and while Harry had Frank distracted, he used 'accio' to retrieve his wand.

Frank's eyes flashed angrily as Neville pushed himself to his feet and began to throw curses at his Father, Harry joined him, and they both knew that Frank would have to surrender. He surely knew that he didn't stand a chance when it was two against one. However, it didn't matter that Frank had been insane for Merlin knew how many years, he didn't seem to have forgotten a single spell. He anticipated their every move, and he was always a step ahead of them. That was how they ended up in the predicament that they did. Frank saw the killing curse coming from a mile away, so before either of them could utter it he tripped them both up with a nifty jinx and grabbed Neville.

He held his son in front of him and pointed his wand at his throat, then smirked at Harry, "You wouldn't kill your best friend just to kill me. Would you Potter?"

Harry's wand was trained on his heart, but now he was in a predicament. He couldn't use the killing curse, he risked hitting Neville. And while there were options, such as blasting charms, and eye-stabbing jinxes, and equally horrendous things, Frank would survive them and he would then kill Neville.

"You can't riddle your way out of this one," Frank said wickedly.

"Would you really kill your own son?" Harry asked coldly.

"He betrayed me, he is no son of mine," Frank replied calmly.

Harry didn't want to test that, because he was fairly sure that Frank was 90% insane and not bluffing in the slightest. Harry took a deep, slightly shaky breath and met Neville's eyes, the taller, lighter haired man gave him the most miniscule of nods.

Before Frank knew what was coming Harry had fired a piercing charm at Frank's heart, it just so happened that to get to Franks heart he had to send that piercer through Neville's shoulder. There were two cries of pain, Frank loosened his grip on Neville, and dropped his wand as he fell back. And Neville cried in pain as he fell forward onto his knees next to his Father's body. With his good arm he reached out and placed his hand on his wrist.

"No pulse," Neville hissed, his eyes dark and stormy as they found Harry's.

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered as knelt in front of Neville and ripped his blood-stained robes and shirt from him, the blood was flowing fast, and Harry's hands shook as he mumbled a healing spell that stopped the bleeding, Harry cut his own robes, and wrapped the leather around the wound to try and stop the pain, but Neville still seemed to be in a lot of pain.

"You just killed my Father," Neville hissed.

"I had to," Harry said, his own eyes dark, "Look around you Neville. Look what he did, he killed Harrison. And everyone else is unconscious, I have to make portkeys, I have to get you all to St. Mungo's."

"Harrison was a dirty Auror," Neville groaned as Harry grabbed any debris that he could find to turn the rocks into portkeys, "He was working for Frank, and then he doubted his loyalty so Frank killed him."

"I knew we had a spy," Harry muttered, "But I didn't expect it to be Harrison. By the time I had worked it out you had already left Grimmauld Place. Here, let them fix it, and Neville…please, don't resent me forever."

Neville fixed Harry with a cold look and was pulled away by the portkey. Harry let out a shaky breath, aware of unshed tears in his eyes as he placed the other portkeys he was making on the bodies of his friends, and sent them all to St. Mungo's, all of them apart from Harrison, who he sent to the St. Mungo's morgue.

When he reached Draco he realised that the blonde was still conscious, just.

"Are you…c…crying, Harry?" He asked.

"I just killed my best friend's Father," Harry said as he angrily wiped the tears from his eyes, "So I'm inclined to say yes. Are you going to be okay, Draco?"

"F…fine," Draco shivered, "I'm just so…cold."

"It's because you're losing blood," Harry said gently, he wiped his face again, aware he had blood on his hands but he had no idea whose blood it was because everyone was bleeding, "You're going to be fine, alright. I just need to get this damned portkey to work so I can get you to St. Mungo's."

"It would be better," Draco said as his slid shut, "To die like this."

"You aren't going to die, Draco," Harry said as his hands shook over the portkey. The bodies, the blood, the fact they were in a _drawing room._ This just screamed _**WAR**_ to him, and when it was all over he just wanted to have a shower, and then find Hermione and hug her and tell her how grateful he was that she wasn't dead.

"But it would be better to die a hero," Draco mumbled, his voice fading away, "Than the bad guy."

"Draco," Harry said as he lifted the blonde slightly, and rested his head on his knee, "Keep your eyes open, alright. You aren't going to die and you've never been the bad guy."

Draco eyes fluttered as if he was trying to open them, "There is no way I'm dying in Harry Potters arms."

Harry smiled slightly, "That's a good thought to have if it keeps you awake," He said as his hands finally stopped shaking and he began to make progress on the portkey.

Draco mumbled, "I was always the bad guy Harry. You always saved everyone, and I broke everything."

"No you didn't," Harry said firmly, "Draco, I never thought you were the bad guy. I thought you were a bit of an arrogant idiot, but you got under my skin. I could never tell if that annoyed me, or if it scared me, and looking back now I know it was fear."

His eyes opened, only slightly, and Harry placed the portkey on his chest, he left his hand on top of it, "I always knew you were a good guy, you just never let me get close enough to show you that."

Draco frowned slightly and gripped Harry's hand on the portkey, "Come with me."

"Of course," Harry said softly, as the portkey whirred and whisked them away to the emergency ward of St. Mungo's.

 **TBC...  
**


	21. The Fallout

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 21 - The Fallout  
**

It was chaos at St. Mungo's. There were healers and stretchers everywhere.

"What have we got?" One of the Healers asked as he walked up to Harry and Draco.

"Knee reversing jinx," Harry said, "He needs a blood replenishing potion and skele-gro too I think."

The healer nodded, "Thank you Head Auror Potter," He said as he called two more healers over, they transferred Draco onto a stretcher and took him into an operating room. Harry got to his feet and dragged himself into the emergency wards small, and thankfully empty waiting room. He sat down in one of the uncomfortable white chairs and looked down at his shaking bloodstained hands, there were days when he loved his job and days when all he wanted was to pack it all in and take up that DADA positon at Hogwarts that he knew would always wait for him.

"You broke so many rules tonight."

Harry didn't even open his eyes at Susan's voice. Her heels clicked towards him, but he kept them shut tightly.

"Are you listening to me, Potter?"

"I'm listening," Harry said dryly.

"You broke rules and you went against regulations," Susan said angrily.

Harry's eyes snapped open, "Screw the rules and regulations! I did the _right thing_ , I saved all of their lives, if I hadn't shown up they all would have died!"

"You put them and yourself in danger!" Susan barked, "Do they even know that you were on desk duty?"

"No," Harry replied, "Because frankly, I shouldn't be on desk duty! I'm fine, I spent a couple of days off with the flu but that doesn't warrant desk duty."

"By protocol you have to be on desk duty for at least two days if you spend more than one day off sick," Susan said coolly, "It's designed that way for a reason. If you are not fit for field duty you are endangering everyone you work with!"

"And how do you think Kingsley will see it?"

"Kingsley isn't in charge of the DMLE, _I_ am!" Susan barked.

"I'm aware of that, but I think your decision making skills are pretty weak right now," Harry hissed.

"As Head of the Department I have no choice but to suspend you until further notice," Susan said coolly, "You broke protocol."

"And if I fight that?" Harry asked hotly, "If I send Kingsley a patronus right now?"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Oh, I would," Harry said, "Expecto Patronum!"

Susan's eyes widened as Harry sent the patronus to Kingsley, with a message of, "Please come to the emergency ward waiting room in St. Mungo's. Apparently I'm being suspended for saving the lives of 6 people."

When the stag pranced out of the room, Harry looked at Susan, "I think I just dared."

"You'll pay for going over my head like that," Susan said darkly, "You can't expect to break the rules and get away with it when nobody else would, just because you're Harry Potter!"

"I'm not breaking the rules and thinking I'm going to get away with it," Harry said coolly, "I fully expect to be punished for it fairly and I don't think suspension is fair _._ And frankly, anyone who saves the lives of 6 people deserves a _thank you_."

"Thank you?" Susan asked in disbelief, "You broke Merlin knows how many rules today and two people are dead! One of them an Auror!"

"And the other, a serial killer who had murdered _six_ people. So again, where's the thank you?" Harry asked coldly.

"And how does Neville feel about that?" Susan asked coolly.

"He's not exactly happy with me," Harry admitted, "But frankly I'd rather have killed his serial killer of a father, than let Neville be killed by that manic. He's my best friend and he was my partner for 7 years!"

Susan took a step towards Harry, as if to bear up for a fight. But before she could say anything, or attempt to hit him, because she seriously looked like she was contemplating it, the fire roared to life and Kingsley stepped out of it.

"What have you done this time Harry?"

Harry sighed, "I saved 6 people's lives, two of which are in critical condition. We lost an Auror, and I killed a serial killer who happened to be an ex-Auror and war hero, who also happened to be Neville's Father."

Kingsley raised an eyebrow, "Quite a day you've had."

"A day in the life of Harry James Potter," Harry said dryly.

"Indeed," Kingsley said, "But I understand that you should still be on desk duty. Didn't you just recover from flu?"

"I'm _fine_ Kingsley," Harry said irritably, "And if I hadn't helped when I did people would have died!"

"I am aware of that," Kingsley said calmly, "But Harry, you do realise that you are not a child anymore? You are the Head Auror, you are meant to uphold the rules not break them." anymore-'

"Yes, I know, but Kingsley-"

"No buts, Harry," Kingsley said sharply, "I hope you realise you will have to be punished for this."

"Yes, I understand that," Harry said honestly.

Kingsley bowed his head, a slight smile playing on his lips, "Good. You will spend the next two weeks on Ministerial protection duty. I'm sure the politics meetings I take part in every day will fascinate you."

Harry's face fell, "Kingsley-"

"I said no buts," Kingsley said again, "And despite the fact you seem determined to break every rule in the book that _you_ rewrote, I must thank you for what you did today."

"Thank you," Harry said, with a pointed look at Susan.

Kingsley also turned to the redhead, "Now, Susan."

"Yes, Minister," Susan said, her cheeks pink.

"I am afraid this situation seems to have tested your ability to lead the department," Kingsley said solemnly, "I worry that perhaps you are too young, perhaps too hotheaded and rash."

"Minister-"

Kingsley held up a hand, "No, Susan. You know that no head of department can be suspended upon the decision of one person. It will go through a tribunal, there will be an inquiry. You are aware of these protocols, you do not suspend the Head Auror to save face for yourself."

"Yes, Minister," Susan said, her eyes focused on the floor.

"Harry is right, he saved lives today, and he seems to be the only person on both of these teams _not_ incapacitated," Kingsley pointed out, "I am certain that he was not endangering anybody by going on field duty while assigned to desk duty. However, until the tribunal takes place Susan, I am going to have to ask you to take some leave, for the purposes of relieving stress."

"Yes, Minister," Susan said with a nod, she glanced up at Harry, "I'm sorry Harry. I thought I was ready for this, but maybe I am too young for this sort of pressure. I was just following the rulebook."

"I've led men and women into a war Susan," Harry said gently, "That's the harshest way to learn when to follow the rules, and when to break them."

Susan nodded, "Am I dismissed, Minister?"

"Yes, Susan," Kingsley said, and without further ado Susan left the waiting room as quickly as she could. Kingsley turned back to Harry, "How are your team members?"

"Neville and Draco are critical," Harry sighed, "I had to shoot Neville's Father, through Neville so he's lost a lot of blood. And Draco's legs are mauled…a knee reversing jinx. The others will be okay, they'll heal quickly enough."

"And the Auror you lost?"

"Harrison Bailey," Harry frowned, "He was working for Frank Longbottom. I don't really know what happened, he was dead when I arrived."

Kingsley bowed his head, "This is all going to have to remain very hush hush."

"Oh I know," Harry said darkly, "It can't exactly come out that an ex-Auror and war hero, who was supposed to be insane and dead, was kidnapped by our own government which made him a psychopathic serial killer.'

"No, it can't," Kingsley said, ignoring Harry's sarcasm, "And as for the DOM, I will control the situation. They have been doing what they want and getting away with it for far too long now. That has to change."

"I agree," Harry said weakly.

"I must return to the Ministry, we have a chaotic situation here and now we are without a Head of the DMLE. I think I will step into the position until I have decided what to do about Susan. Percy can run things in the Ministerial office, this situation has to be brought under control quickly and effectively. Which is why you're on Ministerial protection duty, because people do not tend to argue with me when you are in the room. I fully expect some violent situations, especially when I go down to the DOM."

Harry nodded, "I understand, let me know if I can help," He said as he waved his arm generally, indicating to his communication bracelet.

Kingsley nodded, and placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, "Stay here and be with your team Harry," he said gently as he stepped into the fireplace and disappeared from view.

* * *

"Head Auror Potter."

Harry's eyes snapped open, "No offence Head Healer Davies, but I'm seeing far too much of you at the moment."

Roger Davies smiled slightly, he looked much the same as he had while they were at school, maybe a little more tired now. He had two small children, and Harry knew how tough that must have been from how much he had helped to raise Teddy.

"I agree. You and your team seem to be getting into quite a bit of trouble in recent months," Roger said.

"Tell me about it," Harry sighed, "How are they?"

"Miss. Greengrass is fine, a few minor scrapes and a stunning charm. Miss. Burton is in shock, so I have given her a sedative to calm her and help her wounds heal, it appears the cruciatus curse was used on her."

Harry shook his head angrily, "And Ron?"

"Mr. Weasley suffered from cutting charms, he lost a lot of blood and he is currently sleeping it off while we give him blood replenishing potions. Mr. Nott was just unconscious, a stunning charm and a few small injuries. Mr. Carmichael had a few broken bones, so we gave him skele-gro and he's sleeping things off," Roger replied calmly.

"Neville and Draco?" Harry asked quietly.

"Both are now on the mend," Roger said, "Mr. Longbottom lost a lot of blood, but we gave him a blood replenishing potion. He has to expect some recurring pain in his shoulder however, due to the muscle injury that he suffered.'

"Will it affect his job?" Harry asked quickly.

"It could affect his ability to hold his wand steady," Roger admitted, "And as a result it may affect his aim and his reactions."

"May?" Harry asked shakily, "So he could be fine, he could be alright?"

"It is hard to tell at the moment, Harry," Roger said gently, "Until he's feeling a little better we can't test the muscle damage."

Harry let his head fall into his hands with a frustrated groan. Not only had he just killed Neville's father, he may also have just ruined his career.

"Mr. Malfoy isn't doing much better, I'm afraid," Roger said, and Harry's eyes snapped up again.

"What's wrong with him?" He asked quickly, _too quickly._

"The knee reversing jinx caused severe bone damage," Roger explained, "We set his bones properly, and we have given him skele-gro to repair that damage. He's going to be in a lot of pain for the next few weeks while they heal. However, until the bones heal we cannot know what muscle damage he suffered and with a curse as violent as this…it could be severe."

Harry frowned, "What are you saying, Roger?"

"I am saying that he may never walk unassisted again," Roger said quietly.

Harry was fairly sure Roger saw the tears of anger and frustration bubbling in his eyes.

"I'm sorry Harry," The Head Healer said, "We did everything that we could."

"I know, I know you did," Harry said with a nod.

Roger gave him a small nod and grabbed his shoulder on his way towards the door. It swung shut, and Harry was left alone in the waiting room once more. His head fell into his hands, and he tried to fight the angry tears and sobs that were slowly building up inside him. But he couldn't, because he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt. This was his fault, _all_ of it. The weight of that hit him like a million rocks and that was how Hermione found him with a tearstained face, his body wracked with sobs.

"Harry," She gasped as she rushed over to him and pulled him into her arms, "Harry, come here, it's okay, it's going to be okay."

"Nothing is going to be okay," Harry gasped through the pain in his chest.

"Yes, it is," Hermione soothed him, "Everything is going to be okay"

"You don't even _know_ what happened Hermione!" Harry snapped, his hand clutching his chest.

Hermione only held him tighter, "Then calm down and tell me," She said softly.

"Everyone is hurt."

"How is Theo?" Hermione asked, worry slipping into her voice.

"Fine, he just got stunned and had a couple of minor injuries," Harry said quietly, "I wish everyone was so lucky. Neville and Draco were critical."

"Were?"

Harry nodded, his eyes shut tight as he breathed in the familiar, somehow comforting and homely smell of Hermione's perfume, "And now their lives might be ruined forever. Draco might never walk unassisted again and Neville might never be able to hold his wand steady ever again."

"Harry," Hermione soothed, "You said it yourself, _might._ You can't panic over the worst case scenario, not until it has actually happened."

"The worst case scenario," Harry scoffed, "You mean like killing Neville's Father?"

Hermione's eyes flashed, "What?"

"The Puppet Master was Frank Longbottom," Harry said as he pulled away from her and wiped his eyes, "Its top secret so keep it to yourself. The DOM took him and Alice, experimented on them and then told Neville they were dead. Frank escaped and started killing off DOM members, probably to try and find a way to get Alice back."

"Why would he do that?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"He was insane, Hermione," Harry said, "Whatever they did to him in the DOM made him that way. It was like he was schizophrenic, half the time he was himself and then he was a monster."

"And Neville's Mother is still in the DOM," Hermione breathed, "Probably in the same condition."

Harry nodded miserably, "And Neville hates me because I killed his Father."

"Surely he understands why," Hermione said quietly, "He had killed 6 people."

"7," Harry corrected, "Harrison is dead."

Hermione's eyes widened, "He killed an Auror?"

Harry nodded grimly and pushed himself to his feet, "I have to go and talk to Neville."

"Don't expect forgiveness right away," Hermione said gently as she also got up and stood in front of him, "He's your best friend and he loves you like the brother he never had. But brother's fight and brothers go through periods when they just want to kill each other. He'll forgive you Harry, but it may take time."

"That I can handle," Harry admitted, "But I can't handle losing him forever."

"You won't," Hermione said softly.

Harry took a step closer to her, and pulled her into a hug, she was about a head shorter than him, so he placed a kiss on the top of her head and whispered, "I love you Hermione, you really are the sister I never had. I'm so glad that you survived the war, I don't know what I would do without you."

Hermione frowned and looked up at him, "Did you have a flashback today?"

"The duel was in the drawing room of Longbottom Manor," Harry said quietly.

A knowing look shone in her eyes, "I need you too Harry," She admitted, "And I love you like a brother, I really do. Please be more careful, I hate the calls that I get…I'm terrified that I'm going to lose you."

"You'll never lose me Hermione," Harry said with a smile, "You and I are different than Ron and I. You never left me, not once. You were always there and you always will be. If mini Potters ever arrive you will be their Godmother, and you'll be in the front row if I ever get married. I promise."

Hermione smiled weakly, "It's ironic that you should mention mini Potters actually or mini anything…for that matter."

Harry frowned slightly, "Why?"

"The reason Theo and I were going out for a date tonight," Hermione sighed, "I was going to tell him…"

"You're pregnant?" Harry asked in disbelief.

Hermione nodded, shame flickering across her face, "I know, it's ridiculous isn't it? I'm careful for years. I have sensible relationships…and then I meet one bad boy Slytherin and…I'm a walking cliché."

"No, you aren't," Harry said gently, "How do you think he'll take it?"

"I have no idea," Hermione said, "But I suppose I ought to tell him."

"He's on pain potions, that might help," Harry joked weakly.

Hermione smiled slightly and caught his eye, "Well, if he takes it badly it will hurt. But this baby will always have a Father, just like Teddy always has."

Harry smiled tearfully back at her, "I'll always be here Hermione."

"I know you will Harry," Hermione said. She pushed herself onto her tiptoes slightly, kissed him on the cheek and left him alone in the waiting room once more.

Harry sighed as he walked in the direction of Neville's private room on the DMLE ward. He felt an overwhelming sense of dread as he pushed the door open and walked in. Neville was awake, but looking pretty beaten up as he lay in the hospital bed.

"What do you want?" He asked coolly.

"I'm here to explain," Harry said honestly.

"What is there to explain?" Neville asked, "You killed my Father, end of story."

"No, it's not the end of the story," Harry said darkly, "Because your Father killed 7 people, Neville. He was planning on killing 8, if he had gotten to Blaise."

Neville frowned, "Wait…what happened to Zabini?"

"I have no idea," Harry sighed, "He was gone by the time I arrived."

"He was there when the fight started," Neville said, still frowning, "But then he just disappeared."

"Yes, it's what he does. Let's hope he never becomes a serial killer, he'd probably call himself the chameleon and be impossible to find," Harry joked weakly.

Neville didn't laugh, or smile.

Harry sighed again, "Neville, I'm sorry. But there was no other way. If I had stunned him or tried to use a non-lethal curse, he would have killed you as he went down."

"Then you should have let me die!" Neville said hotly.

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Harry asked angrily, "You are more than my best friend Neville! I think of you as a brother! Since our 18th we've practically shared birthdays, and we've been Auror partners for years! I've lost so many people that I love, too many people! I can't lose you too!"

Neville actually looked Harry in the eye for the first time and saw the tears he was fighting back, "Yes well family fight, _brother_."

"But you will forgive me?" Harry asked weakly.

Neville watched him for a moment as Harry angrily wiped his eyes.

"I might," Neville said, his voice less cold, "But I can't…not right now."

Harry nodded, "I understand."

"Did you hear about my arm?" Neville asked calmly.

Harry nodded, "Roger said you might never be able to hold a wand steady again."

"Oh I probably won't be able to hold anything steady in that hand," Neville agreed, "But it's a good thing it's my left arm really, isn't it?"

"It is?" Harry asked.

"You should know, you were the one who pierced me," Neville retorted.

"I wasn't really paying attention to which arm it was, amongst the chaos," Harry sighed.

"Well it is my left arm, and yes I suspect there will be long-term damage but nothing that will stop me from doing my job so if those are tears of guilt you're crying, they can stop," Neville said dryly.

"They aren't," Harry said honestly, "I can't lose you Neville."

"And you won't," Neville promised, "But I can't even look at you right now Harry, so I would appreciate it if you could just leave me alone."

There was no room for argument and Harry knew that he was defeated so he just gave Neville a nod and left. He paused for a moment in the hallway before visiting Draco, he didn't want to walk into the Slytherins room and just burst into tears on him.

* * *

When Hermione walked into Theo's room he was asleep. She sat down next to his bed and glanced outside. Dawn was just breaking and the bright orange and pink light was beginning to peek through the blinds. She sighed as she placed her hand in his and watched him for a moment as he slept. He looked so peaceful, his shoulder length dark brown hair wavy as it lay on the pillow behind him, his dark eyes shut and fluttering slightly as he dreamed.

She had fallen in love with him, despite telling herself not to. At first, it had been a bit of fun. A dinner date that had ended with dancing and firewhiskey and stumbling into his flat. Her cheeks flushed with colour at the memory, they hadn't even gotten as far as the bedroom, the sofa had done the job just fine. She crept away before he woke up and she hadn't been expecting a floo call, or any kind of communication. However, she knew she would see him around because he worked so closely with Harry who she was always visiting. So the one night stand had turned into a second date, and a third, up until the point when Hermione found herself spending whole weekends with Theo. It hadn't even been a year, but it had been a good 8 months and she loved spending time with him. She knew his history as a womanizing arse, but she couldn't see that guy. She saw someone who made her smile, who cooked her French toast when she had an early start at work. She saw a man who liked to spoon as much as he liked to 'fork'. She couldn't imagine that he had been anything other than faithful to her, and she couldn't put his reputation to the man that she knew. He was incredibly intelligent with a spare bedroom in his flat filled with books and maps that he had created of certain buildings, nothing as impressive or on a scale of the Marauders map, but it was impressive all the same. Hermione loved spending time with him, and their conversation always flowed easily, they had enough in common to get on well. But they had differences too and there had been a couple of fights, generally over disagreements on things like elf welfare or the correct procedure for dragon reserves. Hermione smiled slightly as she thought this over, and she felt Theo squeeze her hand.

She snapped herself out of it and looked down at the man, he was smiling up at her, through sleepy eyes, "Morning," He mumbled.

"Good morning," Hermione said gently.

"How is everyone?" Theo asked as he pushed himself up and reached for the glass of water by his bed.

"Mostly okay," Hermione said honestly, "Neville and Draco are the most badly injured. Neville might have suffered permanent muscle damage in his shoulder, and Draco may never walk again unassisted."

Theo's head fell back against the pillow and his eyes slid shut, "Fuck!" He cursed, "If I was just a better dueler I-"

"You can't think like that," Hermione said, "You can't blame yourself. Nobody could have done anymore, Harry broke the rules to go after you. It's the only reason you all lived, Frank was an ex-Auror, he must have been a great dueler."

Theo's eyes opened, "You know?"

Hermione nodded, "Harry told me, he tells me a lot of top secret things that I'm not supposed to know," She said with a slight smile.

"I'd get jealous if I didn't know he was gay," Theo teased.

Hermione's heart leapt at the fact he thought that way, but she smiled, "Even if he wasn't you wouldn't have anything to worry about. We're like brother and sister, Harry and I."

"Does that mean he's going to give me the big brother talk?" Theo laughed.

Hermione smirked, "Does that mean this is serious?"

Theo tightened his grip on her hand, "Hermione, you've spent more time at my flat than your own in the last few months. This is the most serious thing I've ever done," He said honestly.

"Is this really your first serious relationship?" Hermione asked.

Theo frowned, "No…it's my third. Pansy, she was the first, and then in the final battle she…"

Hermione nodded as Theo trailed off, "I know what happened to her, and I'm sorry Theo."

Theo shook his head, "No, don't be sorry. After that there was Sophie, 2 years and an engagement ring…and then she ran off with another bloke so I gave up on love and relationships."

"Sounds pretty similar to what Ron did to me," Hermione admitted with a frown, "Only it was about 6 years on and off. 6 years of me hoping he'd change and him screwing me over. But with you and I…I'll be honest with you, when we went on that first date I didn't see things going beyond a one night stand because of your history, I didn't think I could trust you."

"I've slept with a lot of women, Hermione," Theo said honestly, "But they all knew what they were getting into. None of them expected anything more than a one night stand, and I've never cheated on anyone. Since our first date, there hasn't been anyone else. You can accuse me of being a sleazebag, but never a cheat."

"I know," Hermione said with a slight smile.

"There's something more going on, isn't there?" Theo asked as he locked his eyes on hers.

"I just don't understand how you could sleep with so many women and not have any…accidents," Hermione admitted.

Theo laughed quietly at the way she had blurted it out, "Well that one's easy, isn't it? I always used the contraceptive charm, just like we've always done."

"Yes, but it doesn't always work," Hermione pointed out, "If the woman is taking potions at the time for example…like a sleeping draught."

Theo frowned, "You used a sleeping draught, that night…after the big case with the Hippogriff had you stressed out…"

"I know," Hermione said, her gaze burning into him.

His eyes widened, "Are you…are you saying that you're…"

She could only nod, terrified of his reaction. Theo stared at her, and she couldn't tell if he was horrified or stunned.

"You're pregnant?" He said eventually.

Hermione bit her lip, "I was going to tell you last night at dinner. But with everything going on I didn't get the chance. I just wasn't sure how you would react because of my…well, I'm a Mudblood, aren't I?"

Theo physically hissed, like an angry cat, at her words, "Don't call yourself that!" He snapped, "You are so much more than your blood! Do you think I give a shit about the fact your parents are Muggles?"

"Don't you?" Hermione asked quietly.

"No, I don't," Theo said firmly, "Just because I'm a pureblood and because I was a Slytherin, I don't hate Muggles and I'm not a prejudiced arse either. My parents are dead, all I have left is a little sister and she's dating a Muggle-born, a _Hufflepuff_ of all people. So don't judge a book by its cover. You should know that better than anyone, know-it-all."

Hermione smiled slightly, "I'm sorry. I just thought because we weren't married, it wasn't traditional and-"

"Screw tradition," Theo said, a smile making its way onto his face, "These last months with you have been amazing Hermione. For the first time since the war my life has actually meant something again. It hasn't just been about breaking into banks and getting money to throw on ridiculous things that I don't need. This job and you, are the best things that have ever happened to me."

"So you don't mind?" Hermione breathed in relief.

"Of course I don't mind," Theo said softly, "Although I suppose I should really introduce you to my sister now, she should probably know that she's going to be an Aunt."

Hermione laughed, but she was crying too because she hadn't expected a reaction like this and she was so grateful and so relieved.

"Come here," Theo said softly, and he patted the edge of his bed. Hermione kicked her shoes off and climbed up to lie next to him. He wrapped his arm around her, and she breathed a sigh of contentment.

"Do you reckon Draco and Harry will finally be together by the time the baby is born?" Theo asked with an amused grin, "We can make them joint Godfathers."

Hermione laughed out loud, "Oh I'm sure they'd _love_ that," She said sarcastically.

"Do you know what, we joke about it, but they probably would," Theo smiled, "They both want kids, but given their predicament…"

Hermione nodded thoughtfully, "Alright then, when the baby is born, _if_ they are together we'll do it."

Theo smirked, "So the question is, how long will it take for them to get the balls to tell each other and actually _act_ on their feelings?"

Hermione laughed, "Well, that could take _forever_ ," She joked.

* * *

When Harry walked into Draco's room he was exhausted, mentally and physically. His every muscle ached and his head pounded. He wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep and he realised in that moment how much he missed relationships and companionship.

Draco was asleep when Harry came in. But he sat down next to his bed anyway, he sighed softly and lay his head on the edge of Draco's bed. The exhaustion took over now that he knew they were all alive at least, if not okay, and he fell asleep. When he woke up the light was shining brightly in the window as the sun rose higher into the sky. As Harry's bleary eyes adjusted he realised that Draco's hand was resting on top of his. As he awoke, and sat up the hand moved swiftly and Draco fixed Harry with a long look.

"What happened?"

"Chaos happened," Harry sighed, "And you're not dead, by the way."

"I had worked that much out for myself, thanks," Draco said sarcastically.

Harry smiled weakly, "Daphne's okay, Theo's okay, and Ron's okay. Dana's in shock, I suspect PTSD. Eddie's broken a few bones so he'll be in here a little longer."

"Harrison's dead, isn't he?" Draco asked.

Harry nodded numbly.

"And Neville?"

"That depends on what you define as okay, I suppose," Harry sighed, "Permanent damage to his left shoulder from a piercing charm that came from my wand…but he'll live. Mentally…he hates me for killing his Father and hes the closest thing to family I've ever had…him and Hermione."

"A piercing charm that came from your wand?" Draco frowned.

Harry nodded, "I killed Frank. He grabbed Neville and held his wand to his neck. I had to use a lethal curse because if I didn't, he would have had time to kill Neville."

"You did the right thing, Harry."

"Sometimes the right thing has horrible consequences," Harry said darkly, "I killed my best friend's Father, I lost a member of my team and now you…"

"What about me?" Draco asked slowly.

"Haven't you spoken to the healers yet?" Harry asked sharply.

"No," Draco said, a dark look passing across his face, "Why? What's wrong with me?"

"They don't know yet," Harry replied quietly, "Not until your bones heal properly. But they think the jinx might have left you with permanent damage to your muscles, ligaments or nerves."

Draco's eyes flashed dangerously, "What are you saying, Potter?"

"They're saying you might not walk unassisted again," Harry said quietly.

The anger was there, bubbling away in Draco's eyes, but there was fear there too and that was all Harry could see. He couldn't see past the scared little boy, the scared 16 year old boy, the fear that had always been present in Draco. It was no wonder he had never been a Gryffindor, he had been raised to be in a constant state of fear, because of his Father.

"What?" He managed to choke out.

"It might not be that bad, Draco, it might be fine," Harry said optimistically.

"Walk unassisted, what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Draco hissed.

"The worst case scenario is probably a wheelchair, but best case scenario is a cane," Harry replied, "But even if it is the case, you won't lose your job. Moody was a great Auror, and he only had one leg for half of his career."

Draco's face had paled and he was silent. Harry was unsure what to say because he didn't know how he could comfort him.

"How long am I going to be stuck in this godforsaken place?" He asked coolly.

"Until your legs heal," Harry replied, "Or at least until the bones have healed properly. Maybe a little longer, but you won't be missing things at work. Susan was suspended and I've been put on Ministerial protection duty for the next two weeks. It looks like Ron's going to be leading my team, and with you and Neville stuck in here, I'd suggest Daphne, Theo and Eddie tag along on my team until your better."

Draco nodded curtly, "That makes sense."

"Draco, are we ever going to talk about what happened when you thought you were dying?" Harry asked quietly.

"No Potter, because I am not dead therefore what I said is not important," Draco drawled.

"Maybe to you it isn't," Harry said, his voice still quiet, "But to me it is. I'm sick of nearly dying and not talking about it. I'm sick of nearly telling each other things and then dropping it. You and I both know that something is going on between us, how long do you plan on avoiding that for?"

Draco glanced down at his hands, "Until I know if I'll be able to _walk_ again, Potter."

"Do you really think that makes a difference?" Harry asked in disbelief, "Do you really think it matters to me?"

"Maybe to you it doesn't matter," Draco said, echoing Harry's own words, "But to me, it does."

Harry met his grey, stormy eyes, "Well I'll be here, waiting. When you're ready to talk, or whatever, I'll be here."

"And I appreciate that, Harry," Draco said honestly, as he averted his gaze, "I just need to deal with my own demons right now before I let anyone else get mixed up with them."

Harry nodded and got to his feet, a little shakily, "I think I'm going to go home and have a shower and possibly a nap. Then I'll have to help deal with the chaos this has left at the Ministry…I'll bring Teddy in to see you tomorrow after work, if you'd like?"

Draco smiled very slightly, "I'd like that."

Harry nodded and his hand froze as he placed it on the door handle, "Get better soon, Draco," He said softly as he left the hospital room.

* * *

"How's the invalid?" Daphne joked as she walked into Neville's hospital room, echoing words he had said to her when she had been injured.

Neville couldn't even manage a smile at her attempt at a joke, "My Father is dead, my best friend killed him and pierced me through the shoulder while he was at it. How do you think I am?"

"I guess that was a stupid question," Daphne admitted as she pulled her long blonde hair back into a ponytail, "Have you seen Harry yet?"

"Yes," Neville replied simply.

"So you are the reason he was crying in Draco's room last night then," Daphne said, a coldness slipping into her voice.

Neville frowned, "He was crying?"

Daphne nodded, "I went to check on Draco, but I didn't go in when I saw him sitting next to Draco's bed, sobbing his bloody heart out."

"Are you making this up to make me feel guilty?" Neville asked as he glanced suspiciously at her.

"No, but is it making you feel guilty?" Daphne asked matter of factly, "Because it should."

"He killed my Father!"

"Your Father was a serial killer, Neville," Daphne said firmly, "He killed 7 people, including Harrison, _our friend_."

"Harrison was an informant," Neville said darkly.

"An informant who regretted what he had done and was going to redeem himself," Daphne said, "Look at us. Look at me, Draco, Theo, Eddie. We're all criminals, does that mean that we deserve to die, or do we get to redeem ourselves? Harrison was an informant, yes, but he didn't kill people, he didn't rob banks. He was a good person, he was just manipulated too easily by a ruthless man."

"That man was my Father," Neville reminded her.

"No, he wasn't," Daphne said gently, "Neville, your Father, the one you knew. The Auror, the war hero, he died when you were a one year old baby and you _know_ that. He died when Harry's parents died. You and Harry are like brothers, you love each other like family. You know why that is, you have so much in common, neither of you had parents. His may have been dead, but yours were too, on the inside."

Neville didn't even bother to wipe away the hot tears that began to spill from his eyes, "I know," he choked out as Daphne sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"I know they're dead, but I thought for a moment that maybe it was possible to get them back! He seemed like my Father and then he just switched into this psychotic person that I didn't recognise. But if Harry hadn't killed him there might have been hope for him and my Mother is still down there, she might get better."

"She won't," Daphne whispered, "There is no cure for this curse Neville. The damage to the brain is permanent, the nerve damage is too severe. You can't restore it, not after all of these years, whatever they are doing down there, maybe it can make the person function again but it can't bring them back, not really."

Neville was silent as he cried, he didn't sob, he just cried quietly into her embrace. He knew she was right, and she was here for him. She was so supportive and he just wished that she would let him in like this too.

"Harry did the right thing," Daphne whispered, "You know that he did. If he hadn't killed him, then you would have died. And as it stands, you'll mourn your Father, but nobody else will. What would we have done if we lost you? Harry would have been a wreck and Draco would be lost with you on the team. And what about me, Neville? How do you think it would have affected me, losing the only man I've loved since….since Blaise."

Neville froze at her words, and he turned his tearstained face up to look at her, "You love me?"

"Of course I do," Daphne said softly, "Have you honestly not noticed?"

"No, I'm sorry," Neville said with a weak laugh as he rested his forehead against hers, "I love you too Daphne, I really do. And I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything."

"I think it's Harry that needs to hear that forgiveness, not me," Daphne said with a slight smile.

"I doubt he'll visit me again, I told him I wanted him to leave me alone," Neville said sheepishly.

"And you think that means he will?" Daphne asked in amusement, "He's Harry Potter, he's the most persistent person I know. Give it a day and he'll be in here visiting you."

Neville smiled weakly and wiped his tears away, "I bet you think I'm just a big blubbering mess now."

"Hey, I sobbed my heart out yesterday when I found out Blaise was alive. What happened to him anyway?"

"I have no idea," Neville admitted, "He was there when the fight started, and then he was just gone."

"So he slipped away like the slimy little shit that he is," Daphne sighed, and a frown began to form on her face, "I just hope he runs away and never comes back to Britain. I never want to see him again."

"With any luck, you will never have to," Neville promised as he took Daphne's hand in his.

* * *

"We don't have a boss, and we don't have a Head Auror, is that what you're telling me?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "No Ron, you're being dramatic. Our boss has been suspended, but Kingsley is acting Head. And I'm still Head Auror, I'm just on Ministerial protection duty for the next two weeks so I'll need you to step into the Head Aurors shoes for me."

"Alright," Ron sighed, "As long as it's temporary."

"It is, I promise," Harry said, "But things are going to be a bit weird around here for the next couple of weeks. Kingsley's back, I'm pretty much on desk duty, and Nev and Draco are going to be stuck in the hospital."

"That last job," Ron shook his head, "Is it the toughest you've worked?"

"Yeah," Harry sighed, "In all my years as an Auror I've never had a member of my team die. I have to inform his Mother, later today."

Ron frowned, "Shit Harry, that sucks."

"Tell me about it," Harry said as he felt a migraine come on, "But before I have to do that terrible job, I have to accompany Kingsley to the DOM. I'm fully expecting a violent situation."

"I'll keep an eye on things up here," Ron promised.

"Thanks mate, I appreciate it," Harry said, as he left Ron alone in the office. Dana was having a psych evaluation to make sure she was mentally fit to return to work, and Harrison's desk was left untouched.

Harry's day was dreadful. There _had_ been a violent situation at the DOM, and he'd had to stun about 10 people to get Alice and the other 'patient' out and transferred to St. Mungo's. Kingsley had been unhurt so he had at least done his job right. With the initial conflict out of the way Kingsley addressed the department and informed them that as a new rule there would be 6 Aurors assigned to the department to keep guard, and report back. There was to be no more human testing, and all the remnants of the human testing that had been done, for example the _tank of brains_ , were ordered to be removed. Harry barely had time for lunch (not that he was hungry anyway) as they headed straight to St. Mungo's to secure the patients in a top secret security ward, since at least one of them was supposed to be dead.

With his Ministerial work done for the day, Kingsley went home and Harry was forced to drag himself into the empty office and put all of Harrison's possessions into a cardboard box. Once his desk was completely empty Harry turned the lights out with a heavy sigh, and apparated out of the Ministry, to the home where Harrison's single Mother had raised him. She opened the door, saw the box and the look on Harry's face and she broke down. He had consoled her, sat with her, and explained to her as best he could about what had happened. But he didn't tell her about Harrison's betrayal, because that was something that no Mother wanted to know about their child.

By the time he finally left it was edging on 6pm and Harry hadn't eaten anything since his meagre breakfast of coffee and a bagel. When he dragged himself through the front door of Andromeda's house he felt like a zombie and she noticed straight away.

"What have you done to yourself, Harry?" The greying woman asked gently as she rose from the table.

"Things at work are just very hard," Harry said quietly, "Am I late for dinner?"

"No, we were waiting for you," Andromeda said, her eyes flickered with worry as they all sat down together at the table.

Teddy beamed over at Harry, "Hi Uncle Harry!"

"Hey Ted," Harry smiled. It instantly brought his spirits up, seeing Teddy's little smiling face.

They ate and made small talk and when they had finished eating Harry asked Ted, "Alright then, are you ready to go and visit Uncle Draco in hospital?"

Teddy nodded eagerly, "I drew him a picture! It's in my room, can I go get it Grandma?"

"Of course, on you go," Andromeda said softly.

Teddy rushed up the stairs, and Andromeda turned her gaze on Harry, "What on earth is going on, Harry? How did Draco get so badly hurt?"

Harry sighed, "I can't tell you the details Andy. Just that it was a serial killer case, he had killed 6 people when the team went in. Draco was hit with a knee reversing jinx which might have done permanent damage to the muscle, ligaments and nerves in his legs."

Andromeda sighed, "Harry, do you understand how hard this must be for him?"

"Of course I do," Harry said, offended that she thought he was taking it lightly, "I know how hard it must be to cope with the fact you might never walk unassisted again."

Andromeda shook her head and lowered her voice, "Harry. Lucius Malfoy always walked with a cane, do you remember?"

"Yes," Harry frowned, "Why?"

"He was hit with a knee reversing jinx, during the first war," Andromeda said, her voice still quiet as Teddy began to thunder back down the stairs, "That was why he needed the cane, his legs used to seize up sometimes in the winter. It drove him mad, it made him so angry. And…when Draco was a child he…well he sometimes beat Draco with the cane."

"Shit," Harry whispered, "He must be terrified that he'll become like his Father."

Andromeda nodded, a dark look passing across her face.

"I'll talk to him, I'll make sure he's okay," Harry promised as Teddy reached them.

"Ready Uncle Harry!"

Harry smiled down at the boy, "I'll have him home within the hour Andy."

Andromeda nodded, "Do tell Draco that I hope he gets well soon," She said.

"I will," Harry promised as he and Teddy walked out into the evening sunshine, and Harry threw Teddy up onto his shoulders with ease, despite how exhausted he was.

They apparated to St. Mungo's, and Harry held Teddy's hand as they climbed the stairs up to the DMLE ward, where the private rooms were. When they reached Draco's room Harry opened the door and Teddy ran in.

"Uncle Draco!" He shouted excitedly as he jumped up onto Draco's bed, right onto his legs.

Harry gasped, "Teddy! Don't do that, you'll hurt him!"

Teddy's eyes widened, and he jumped down. But Draco hadn't even flinched, his eyes went incredibly dark as he caught Harry's eye and said, "It's fine, I didn't feel a thing."

Harry's heart dropped, but he tried not to show it for Teddy's sake, "Hey Ted, why don't you give Uncle Draco that picture?"

Teddy nodded and pulled the crumpled piece of parchment from his pocket. Harry walked closer to the blonde man and lifted Teddy up, plonking him down next to Draco on the bed.

"Here Uncle Draco," Teddy said as he smoothed out the parchment, "D'you know what it is?"

Draco smiled slightly, "Is that me, Teddy?' he asked as he pointed a blonde man holding a wand and wearing green robes.

Teddy nodded eagerly, "And that's Uncle Harry," He said, pointing to a dark haired man with glasses and red robes, they were standing back to back, both holding their wands, "Because you're best friends now!"

Harry smiled at the boy, "It's a great picture Teddy."

"It's a lovely picture," Draco agreed as he carefully placed it on his bedside table, "I'll put it on my wall when I go home."

"How long are you going to be in hospital for Uncle Draco?" Teddy asked curiously.

"Oh, a couple of weeks probably," Draco replied, "But you can come visit me, so long as your Grandma or your Uncle Harry doesn't mind bringing you."

"I don't mind," Harry said with a smile, "I'll be here every other night anyway visiting either you or Neville."

Draco nodded, "How is he?"

"Neville?" Harry asked, "I don't know, I haven't spoken to him since our argument."

"Excuse me Uncle Draco," Teddy said politely, "What is wrong with your legs?"

Draco and Harry hadn't even realised that Teddy had been poking Draco's legs. Harry frowned, "Stop that Teddy, that's very rude!" He chastised.

"Sorry," Teddy said, immediately wringing his hands together and looking down at them.

Draco sighed and said, "Hey Teddy?"

Teddy looked up, and Draco smiled slightly sadly at him, "Come on up."

Teddy edged further up the bed and lay next to Draco. Harry watched with interest and surprise as Draco's right hand gently stroked Teddy's hair. It was the thing that soothed him, it had done since he was a small child. He had clearly underestimated how close Draco and his Godson were, but he understood, neither of them had much family left.

"A bad man hurt my legs," Draco explained, "He made them hurt and they had to be fixed. So my bones are healing right now, and until that's done, I can't feel anything."

"What if they never feel something?" Teddy asked fearfully.

"Then I won't walk properly again," Draco replied, "But the healers don't think that will happen. They think they will get mostly better, and I'll just have to walk with a cane."

"But you wouldn't be able to play Quidditch," Teddy said, his eyes wide with horror.

Draco smiled slightly, "Hey, nothing's going to stop me beating you at apple Quidditch in the summers little guy."

Teddy smiled sadly, "I don't want your legs to be nothing, Uncle Draco."

"I know Teddy, I don't either," Draco said softly, "But we just have to wait and see what happens, okay?"

"Alright," Teddy agreed, and Draco smiled as the little boy cuddled back into him again. He glanced at Harry, and noticed that not only was he smiling, he seemed to be holding back tears. Draco frowned, but Harry just shook his head as if to say that he would explain later. He stayed with Teddy for a little longer, but the 7 year old was falling asleep next to Draco, so Harry eventually had to take him home. He dropped him off and then went back to the hospital. When he let himself into Draco's room, again, the blonde smiled weakly.

"Look whose back."

"I just can't get enough of you today," Harry joked as he leant against the wall.

Draco chuckled, "Back to question me about the lack of feeling in my legs?"

"It is worrying," Harry sighed as he sat down by Draco's bed.

"The healers say it's because the bones are still resetting themselves," Draco said, "But only time will tell, I guess."

"Is it just your legs, or?" Harry asked, deciding that he didn't need to ask the _whole_ question for Draco to understand.

The blonde haired man fixed him with an odd look, something akin to longing, "It's everything below the waist at the moment."

Harry frowned, and Draco shook his head irritably, "I know, I should have screwed you when I had the chance, Potter."

Harry smirked at that comment, "Well I didn't like to say, but I have been flirting with you for _months._ "

"And stargazing with me," Draco said in amusement, "There were so many opportune moments."

"And there will be more," Harry said confidently, "The feeling will come back, Draco. I mean, worst case scenario you'll have a cane. So what? Canes are pretty cool."

Draco raised an eyebrow at the dark-haired man, "Andromeda told you about my Father didn't she?"

"Am I that transparent?" Harry asked in disbelief.

Draco smiled, "To me you certainly are."

Harry sighed, "Well, yeah she told me. About the knee reversing jinx and how he was bitter about having a cane-"

"So bitter he beat the shit out of his kid with it," Draco finished.

"She didn't tell me anything in detail," Harry said honestly, "But I've read your file so I know that he hurt you."

"And I've read _your_ file, so I know that you know how it feels," Draco said.

Harry shook his head, "No, being hit by your Uncles fists, and burned by your Aunts frying pan…even being beaten up by your dickhead of a cousin. That's nothing, not compared to how much pain magic can inflict."

"Pain is pain, Harry," Draco said quietly, "Does it matter how much it hurts, or how it's inflicted? It doesn't make it any less okay to hurt a child. Teddy isn't even my son, he's not even my nephew although that's what I call him. But I could never hurt him and I could never stand anyone hurting him."

Harry smiled, "Neither could I. I love that little boy so much. It took me a really long time to come to terms with being gay you know, coming to terms with the fact I liked men when all I wanted was a family, the family I never had."

Draco nodded, his eyes fixed on the wall opposite his bed, "I know the feeling."

Harry chuckled, "We're quite a pair, aren't we? Moping about the children we'll probably never have. I guess we can always share Teddy."

"Yes," Draco said as a smile found its way onto his face, "That I think we can do."

* * *

Harry was on his way home, when something made him stop outside the door of Neville's hospital room. He knew that his friend had told him that he needed space, but as he paused outside his door he wondered if a little bit of persuasion might change his mind. And somebody had to deliver the bad news to Neville…

Harry bit the bullet and walked into the room, Neville was alone, and awake. He didn't immediately glare at Harry either, which he felt was a good start.

"Harry," Neville said politely.

"Do you want the bad news, or the worse news?" Harry asked sheepishly.

"Let me guess, my Mother is still insane?"

"That was one of the bits of bad news, yes," Harry said as he sat down next to his friend's bed, "The cure or treatment, or whatever it was…it only worked on men."

"Don't ask me why, but I had a feeling that would be the case," Neville sighed, "What other bad news is there?"

"This whole business with your Father is going to have to stay top secret," Harry said quietly, "He was supposed to be dead, and he was experimented on and turned even more insane by our own government. You can imagine what would happen if this got into the press…there will be a funeral, at the unmarked graveyard where they bury the Unspeakables, you can't rebury a dead man…"

"So he doesn't even get to be buried in a named grave," Neville said bitterly.

"I'm sorry Neville," Harry said, "There was nothing I could do. I fought it, but…"

"It's not your fault," Neville admitted grudgingly, "None of it is, Harry. You did the right thing, killing him instead of letting him kill me."

"Daphne's been in here talking to you, hasn't she?" Harry asked knowingly.

Neville smiled sheepishly, "Yes, she told me I should apologise."

"You didn't have to," Harry said, "I didn't deserve an apology."

"You had no choice," Neville sighed, "It doesn't mean I like it, or that I agree with what you did. But you had to do it, you couldn't let me die. I know if the situation had been reversed…I'd have done the same thing, I'd have saved you."

Harry nodded, and swallowed a lump in his throat, "So we're good?"

"We're fine," Neville replied, "Are _you_ alright? You look exhausted."

"Things are chaotic at work," Harry said as he cleared his throat, "The DOM is under so much scrutiny. The DMLE is a mess, and Susan has been suspended so Kingsley is acting Head. I'm on Ministerial Protection Duty so Ron is trying his best to cope with the Head Auror position. And then at the end of the day when I just want to go home I have to bring Teddy in here to see Draco."

His voice cracked towards the end of the last sentence, and Neville placed his hand on Harry's shoulder, "This is about Draco, isn't it?"

"Of course it is," Harry muttered, "It's always been about Malfoy with me hasn't it?"

Neville smiled slightly, "Yes, but normally it was, oh look it's Malfoy, I hate him so much with his stupid slicked back hair and his fancy broomstick. Apart from that time in 6th year, when it was oh look it's Malfoy, he's so annoyingly attractive isn't he."

Harry laughed weakly, and Neville continued, "And now, it's oh look it's Draco, the bloody love of my life who might never walk again and who I'm co-raising my dead wolf-fathers child with."

"We are not co-raising Teddy," Harry scoffed, "It just so happens that I'm his Godfather, and Draco is his Uncle, sort of."

"Who both love him, and would do anything for him," Neville said in amusement, "And I notice that you didn't deny it when I said that Draco was the love of your life."

"Yeah, well I don't know if I can," Harry said with a mock glare Neville's way, "I can't deny any of it. Ever since I started shoving down these _feelings_ about guys in 4th year Malfoy has always been there in the back of my mind, in my dreams-"

"Yeah, that's enough about that please," Neville snorted, "You forget that I live with you, and have done for years. I've heard your Draco Malfoy dreams."

Harry's cheeks turned scarlet, and Neville laughed loudly, wincing as he realised that doing so was bloody painful.

"Still hurting?" Harry asked.

Neville nodded, "But it's healing nicely enough. The healers reckon I'll be out in a week or so. How is Draco doing, by the way?"

"Not good," Harry sighed, "Teddy jumped onto his legs today, and he didn't even flinch. He feels nothing, nothing below the waist."

" _Nothing_ below the waist?" Neville asked sharply, "You mean…"

"Yes, that means what you think it does," Harry said quickly.

"Bet you wish you'd screwed him when you had the chance," Neville said matter of factly.

"Funny, that's what he said about me," Harry said with a slight smile, "But he'll get better, I'm sure of it. The healers said things would be numb until the bones finished resetting themselves, and that will still take a few days."

"I admire your optimism, and I'm sure it helps him too," Neville said.

Harry shrugged as he pushed himself to his feet, "I don't know what he thinks about me Nev. I just want him to get through this, and then I'll start pushing him for answers."

Neville nodded, "Just don't leave it too long, alright? You don't want to risk him meeting someone else."

"Don't worry Nev," Harry said with a fond smile at his best friend, "He'll not have a chance, I'll be in here every other day. He'll be sick of the sight of me soon enough."

Neville chuckled and Harry left. He planned to head home and go to bed. It couldn't be much later than 8.30pm but he was absolutely exhausted from the events of the past few days.

 **TBC :)  
**


	22. Legacy

**The Justice Team**

 **Chapter 22 - Legacy**

Over the course of the next week Harry divided his time between the Ministry, Andromeda's home and St. Mungo's. When he wasn't in talks with Kingsley or trailing around after him, he was doing paperwork. Then every 2 or 3 nights he would pop by Andromeda's, have something to eat and take Teddy to see Draco. He was in high spirits when Teddy was around, he'd smile and hug the boy and ask him how his day had been but when Harry took Teddy home and returned to the hospital Draco would be quiet and withdrawn, it was difficult to so much as get him to play a game of chess. Every day that passed without feeling in his legs, he got worse and when they hit the week mark, Harry had to admit that he was beginning to get worried too.

It had been exactly one week since the chaotic, life changing mission when Harry went to visit Draco during the day. He normally only visited at night but Kingsley was at home with flu so there was no protection duty to be done. Everyone else had been discharged from the hospital now, Neville had been the last to leave the afternoon before.

"Hey Draco, I brought you some lunch, I thought you'd be sick of the hospital-"

Harry froze and frowned as he looked up and saw Hermione sitting by Draco's bed, "Uh, hi Hermione."

"Oh, hey Harry," Hermione said sheepishly.

"I didn't know you and Draco were friends," Harry said suspiciously.

"We're not, exactly," Hermione said with a frown, "I mean we don't dislike each other, but we aren't exactly friends either. I was just dropping by, on Theo's behalf."

"Why couldn't Theo just visit himself?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because he's working ridiculous hours at the moment with Draco still in here and Neville on compassionate leave," Hermione said pointedly.

Harry smiled slightly, "Ah, sorry about that."

"It can't be helped, I understand," Hermione said with a slight smile, "But…well, the reason I'm here…I was going to tell you and Draco separately but I suppose since you're both here…"

"Just spit it out Granger," Draco said with a fond sort of smile.

Hermione smiled slightly, "I told Draco about the baby. He and Theo are good friends and we'd been having a chat. We thought it would be nice…if you two would be its Godfathers."

Harry raised an eyebrow at his best friend, and Draco piped up, "I'm not sure if anyone has informed you Granger, but Godparents are generally supposed to consist of a Godmother and a Godfather."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Theo said you would react like this. And why can't you both be Godfathers, hmm? It says God _parents_ , two men can be parents and two women can be parents."

"Yes, but the whole point of Godparents is to make sure that if anything happens to you or Theo, that the child will have a Mother figure," Draco pointed out.

Harry snorted, "Then good job Hermione, I'll be its Father figure and he can braid its hair."

Draco scoffed, "As if Potter. You are _far_ more feminine than I am."

"Draco, you are the one who uses glamour charms on your hair and wears ridiculously expensive tailored robes," Harry grinned, "I'm the scruffy Auror who hasn't shaved in weeks and slobs about in jeans and a t-shirt on weekends."

"Well, when you put it that way," Draco said, a smile flickering on his face.

Hermione looked between them in amusement, "Have I missed something here?"

Harry glanced at his best friend, "Not in particular. Why do you ask?"

"The sexual tension has always been there," Hermione said knowingly, "Since you two were about 12 but-"

"Wait, hold up a minute. _12?_ " Harry asked in disbelief.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Yes, _12_. Don't you recall your little duel? I seem to remember it being something along the lines of Scared Potter…You wish."

Draco scoffed, "That could be classed as flirting yes. But sexual tension? No, that was far later."

"Not that much later, 3rd year I reckon," Harry said in amusement, "That's when it started. That's when he started shouting across the entire great hall just to ask me if I'd fainted," He grinned.

"And got up in your face in Hippogriff enclosures," Draco said matter of factly.

"And we won't go into the ferret situation of 4th year," Hermione said as a smile played on her lips, "So are you two…"

"I would answer that question if I knew what we were," Harry said in amusement as he sat down on the edge of Draco's bed.

The blonde shrugged in agreement.

Hermione watched them both with interest, "Okay. Well I won't judge…so will you be Godfathers, both of you?"

"As unconventional and weird as it is, yes," Harry smiled, "I'm honoured and I can't wait for the baby to arrive. When are your due anyway?"

"In 6 months," Hermione said with a smile, "Draco?"

"Yes, I'll be one of its Godfathers," Draco said dryly, but he was holding back a smile.

"Wait," Harry frowned, "You're _three_ months pregnant? You look the same!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Glamour charms, see," She mumbled an incantation and her stomach grew a couple of inches.

"Ah," Harry said in amusement, "Right, that's very clever."

"Was it planned?" Draco asked curiously.

Hermione sighed, "Not exactly. I took a sleeping draught and forgot it wouldn't have worn off the following morning," Her cheeks were flushed pink by the time she finished talking.

Harry smiled in amusement, "I'm guessing Theo took it well then? He's been whistling _and_ offering to help Ron with his paperwork this week."

Hermione laughed lightly, "He took it great, he's really excited."

"Well he would be," Draco said with a smile, "He practically raised his little sister on his own. She must have just finished her 7th year at Hogwarts, there's about 6 years between them or something. His Father was quite old when they were small."

"I haven't met her yet," Hermione said thoughtfully, "She was at school when we started dating."

"You'll love Lacey, and she'll be thrilled that she's going to be an Aunt," Draco assured Hermione.

She smiled slightly and redid her glamour charm, "Thank you Draco, that was actually very nice of you."

"He is capable of human kindness sometimes," Harry joked as he kissed Hermione on the cheek, "Let me know if you need anything Hermione, anything at all."

"I will," Hermione promised, "Get better soon Draco."

Draco nodded, and Hermione left. Harry glanced at the blonde, his façade fell the moment the door snapped shut. Harry prodded his leg.

"Still nothing," Draco said as he threw his head back against the pillows.

"It will come back," Harry said, but he wasn't believing that very much himself right now.

"Why aren't you at the funeral?" Draco asked, avoiding the subject.

"Because Neville didn't ask me to go," Harry replied honestly, as he shoved Draco unceremoniously to the side and pulled his legs up to sit next to him on the bed.

"Yes Potter, of course you can share my bed," Draco said sarcastically.

Harry rolled his eyes, "He asked me to go to his parent's funeral the first time, when they weren't really dead. But we didn't know that and back then I was his rock so I was there supporting him you know? But now he has Daphne so he asked her to go…and he didn't even mention the funeral to me so I'm assuming I'm unwelcome."

"Well, do you often go to the funerals of the people you kill?" Draco asked matter of factly.

"When you put it like that…no, but that's not the point," Harry said irritably.

Draco snorted, "Harry, you killed his Father. He'll forgive you, but do you really think he wants you standing next to him while they bury the man?"

Harry sighed heavily, "I know. I guess…it's just that everything is changing again and I bloody hate change. Neville's falling in love with Daphne and she's replacing me. I bet he'll move out soon. Then Grimmauld Place will suck, I mean it's so lonely and I already hate the place…and Hermione's having a baby. Everyone is settling down, and falling in love."

"Why don't you hang out with Weasley more?" Draco remarked, "He still acts like a teenager."

Harry leant back against the pillows and turned his head to the side to look at Draco, "I'm serious Draco. Everyone else is thinking about marriage and kids and all I can think is that I'm stuck and that I'll never have those things."

"Because you're gay?" Draco asked, "Because you know men can get married in the wizarding world. I mean they can even have kids now…with that surrogacy programme they've been advocating here or they can adopt."

"I know," Harry said, "But it's not exactly accepted and if I decide to get married it all spills out doesn't it? A gay Head Auror…the press would have a field day."

"I never thought Harry Potter would be afraid of the press," Draco laughed, "You were always defying them at school."

"I didn't have anything to lose at school," Harry said honestly, "But now I have a job that I love…and I don't want to lose that."

"You're on first name and poker night terms with Kingsley who is acting Head of the DMLE and the Minister for Magic," Draco said in amusement, "I think you're just making up excuses."

"What's your excuse then?" Harry asked bluntly, "You admitted yourself that you prefer men to women. I'm assuming that's why you aren't married yet."

"Yes," Draco said thoughtfully, "It is. But I'm not like you, I can't marry whoever I want. I have to marry a woman; I need an heir."

Harry smirked, "You could marry a man and have an heir, it's still a valid marriage and the child would still have your DNA and be a legitimate heir. I think _you_ are making excuses."

"Touché," Draco said with a slight smile, "Like you said, it's not particularly accepted, and I'm from an old, noble Pureblood family-"

"- with a name that's been dragged through the mud because of the war," Harry pointed out in amusement, "Excuses Malfoy."

Draco snorted, "Maybe I just haven't met the right person yet, Potter. And considering I have no feeling below the waist at the moment I'm not exactly the best catch am I?"

Harry caught his eyes as he tried to hold back a laugh, but he couldn't help it. He burst out laughing and despite it all Draco laughed too.

* * *

The following two days were hellish for Harry. Kingsley had finally made a decision on Susan's suspension, and decided to demote her to Assistant Head. It could have been worse, but he had practically begged Kingsley not to fire her because she had been trying to do the right thing. She was right, she wasn't ready, she was too young, but she would be great in a few years' time.

She returned to work, back in her old office and Harry had decided to bring her a peace offering.

 _Knock. Knock._

"Come in," Susan's voice called.

Harry walked into her office, and waited for the inevitable insult. Susan glanced up at him and saw the brown bag in his hands, "If that's fast food you can stay, if not bugger off."

Harry laughed and walked into the office, snapping the door shut behind him, "It's Burger King."

"Ah, just what I need," Susan said as she accepted the brown bag gratefully. She dropped a photo frame into a brown box and then sat down behind her desk.

"I came by to apologise," Harry said honestly.

"Apologise?" Susan asked in surprise, "For what?"

"Getting you suspended and calling Kingsley on you," Harry said with a frown, "I undermined your authority and I embarrassed you. I shouldn't have done that."

"No," Susan said thoughtfully, "You were right. I wasn't ready and I didn't handle the situation properly. You shouldn't have been suspended, what you did was heroic, it _did_ deserve a thank you."

Harry smiled slightly and sipped at his coffee, "Thank you, for admitting that you were wrong."

"I should thank you," Susan said knowingly, "Apparently they were all for firing me, but you fought to make sure they didn't."

Harry shrugged, "You're good at the job Suse, you'll be great in a few years once you've matured a bit. Being Head Auror this young is one thing, but being head of the biggest department in the Ministry? That's something different altogether."

"Tell me about it," Susan sighed, "Which is why I am packing my office up. I said no when Kingsley offered to demote me."

"You did what?" Harry asked in disbelief.

Susan smiled slightly, "I'm sick of bossing all you big burly men around Harry. I can do it, just like my aunt could but I'd rather pursue a different route for the moment."

"You're telling me I went through about 4 protocols to get you this job back and you turned it down," Harry said as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"That is exactly what I'm telling you," Susan laughed, "I start a new job on Monday."

"Let me guess, something to do with the Wizengamot," Harry said with a knowing smile.

"Correct," Susan grinned, "I was offered a job as a senior Juror. I know the pay isn't as good, and the hours are longer, but I'd like to go back to what I love."

"You'll still make head of the department one day or head of the Wizengamot," Harry said confidently.

Susan laughed, "Yes well I can hope, can't I? How is everyone, by the way?"

"Ah well, we're almost all back to normal," Harry replied, "Dana is on desk duty because she failed her psych evaluation. Ron, Daphne, Theo and Eddie are fine and Neville is still off on compassionate leave, he comes back on Monday."

"And Draco?" Susan asked with a knowing look.

"Still in St. Mungo's," Harry said darkly, "He has no feeling in his legs. They had to reset a lot of bones and I know it can take up to two weeks for that to work properly but…well it's been a week and a half and I'm starting to wonder if he'll ever get the feeling back."

Susan frowned, "He should, I mean they can repair the nerve, muscle and ligament damage once the bones have finished healing…are you two, involved?"

Harry shook his head, "No, and it would be against the rules anyway, if we were."

"No, it wouldn't," Susan said thoughtfully, "For the same reason that Daphne and Neville, or Dana and Eddie, can be together. They may be Aurors, but their team technically doesn't exist so the rules don't apply to them. We set it up that way."

Harry hummed thoughtfully, "I was thinking about that. Don't you think some promotions are in order?"

Susan smiled slightly, "I had that thought yes. I'm leaving today, but I was going to suggest that you brought it up at the meeting on Friday. What do you have in mind?"

Harry sipped his coffee, "Well Ron fought in that battle better than I've seen him fight in a long time. Dana…she's on desk duty with PTSD and she failed her psych evaluation so again, I think she should stay as a Class II for the moment."

"What about Neville and Draco?" Susan asked thoughtfully.

"I think Neville should be upgraded to Class I," Harry said honestly, "He never deserved to be a Class III, but I understand why it had to be done. He killed the man who hurt his parents, yet he dealt with this case in such a mature way and I really think he deserves to have his former class restored."

Susan nodded in agreement, "What about Draco?"

"I think he should be upgraded to Class I as well," Harry said, "If his legs heal and he can come back I really think he deserves to be promoted. He fought well, and to the last gasp, he was willing to die for his team and that's true leadership."

"Which I'm sure the board will take into account, coming from you," Susan smiled, "Do you think the three other team members deserve to be upgraded to Class I's?"

"I haven't decided if they're ready yet," Harry replied honestly, "But they all fought well and Theo in particular isn't a confident duelist."

Susan nodded, "Alright, well let me know how things go."

"I will," Harry promised, "I'm sorry that you're leaving Suse. Things won't be quite the same around here without you."

"I'm sure you'll get to like the new assistant head just fine, whoever they are," Susan said thoughtfully, "That's another thing about that big meeting on Friday. They need to decide on my replacement."

"Not that I'll get a say, they'll probably kick me out before they get to that part," Harry said irritably.

"Oh I'm sure they will," Susan laughed, "The politics of the justice department and all that."

"It's a load of bullshit," Harry scoffed as he got to his feet, "Well, good luck with the new job."

"Thank you Harry," Susan smiled, "I'll see you around."

"See you around," Harry agreed with a smile as he left her office.

* * *

It was Wednesday which meant it was a Teddy day. Harry finished work and went to Andromeda's where she fed him a lovely warming stew. The chilly days of winter were upon them now. Harry wasn't actually intending to visit they hospital that night, it was just that every Wednesday he went round to Andromeda's for dinner and spent some time with his Godson.

They were playing 'apple Quidditch', a game Draco had invented and Teddy had taught Harry. It was very similar to the Quidditch Harry had played in the orchard near the Burrow with the Weasley's growing up. The difference was that Draco enchanted about 50 apples and it was a race to catch them and throw them into baskets. The person with the most apples at the end won, and Teddy always won because Harry went easy on his Godson.

Halfway through their game a patronus appeared, in the form of a ferret. Harry nearly fell off of his broom laughing when it spoke with Draco's voice, "I'm _bored_ Potter. You haven't visited me in days, I'm starting to think you're avoiding me."

Harry rolled his eyes and flew through the apple obstacle course to Teddy, "Hey Ted, wanna go visit Uncle Draco? He's missing you."

"Yeah!" Teddy said excitedly as he sped to the ground and dismounted his broom.

Harry followed him, and watched him in amusement as he stood in front of the basket of apples counting, "I won!"

"Well done you," Harry smiled.

"Uncle Harry," Teddy said thoughtfully, "Does Uncle Draco like apples?"

Harry frowned as he realised that Draco always seemed to be eating apples when he walked into the basement at lunchtime, "Uh yeah, he does."

"Cool!" Teddy said cheerfully as he shoved an apple in his pocket, "I'll take him an apple, come on Uncle Harry!"

He grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him through the lovely warm house to the front door. Harry chuckled at his enthusiasm and called, "Andy?"

Andromeda's voice came from the kitchen, "Yes?"

"I'm just taking Ted to see Draco, I'll have him back before 8pm," Harry called.

"Alright, have fun!" Andromeda called back.

They left and apparated to the hospital as they had done every few nights for the past week and a half. Teddy cheerfully said hello to the woman on duty at the reception and Harry had to jog after him as he bolted up the stairs.

When they reached Draco's hospital room Teddy opened the door and ran in with Harry at his heels. Just as Harry snapped the door shut Teddy practically vaulted onto the bed and landed on a sensitive region of Draco's.

Draco's face creased with pain, and he groaned, "Ted…please move."

Teddy looked up at Draco with wide eyes, "You can feel things Uncle Draco!"

Draco glared sideways at Harry, "Potter, remove your Godson please," He said through gritted teeth.

Harry had already moved towards the blue haired boy, he lifted him up and placed him further up on the bed, "So when you can't be bothered with him he's my Godson not your nephew?"

Draco nodded as he slid further down the bed, "That hurt."

"That's great," Harry grinned as he prodded Draco in the leg, and the blonde hissed. Harry prodded him again, a little further up.

"Yes, I can feel everything," Draco said irritably, "So can you please stop poking me now?"

Harry smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, that's just…that's great, Draco. Isn't that great?"

"How many more times are you going to say great?" Draco asked in amusement as a smile slipped onto his face.

"I brought you an apple Uncle Draco!" Teddy cut in as he literally got in between them, he pulled the apple out of his pocket proudly.

Draco smiled slightly, "Why'd you bring me an apple Ted?"

"Because Uncle Harry says you like them," Teddy replied, "And Grandma says hospital food will conrode your tarteries."

Harry laughed, "I think you mean corrode your arteries Teddy, and she's just being dramatic."

"Yes, your Grandmother is very good at that," Draco chuckled.

Harry smiled at the blonde, "You're clearly getting better, when do you get out?"

"Friday," Draco said happily, "The healers came in this morning to test my legs, but I already knew the feeling was back because I woke up in agony last night. The bones have healed, I've got some potions to take for nerve damage but the muscles and ligaments look okay."

"Have you tried walking yet?" Harry asked curiously.

"This morning," Draco said with a shake of his head, "I felt like a baby giraffe."

Harry snorted at the image, "But you can walk?"

Draco nodded, "Yes, it just feels like the muscles in my legs are very weak. I'll need a cane for a few months, but then I should be fully healed. The damage wasn't as bad as they thought."

Harry grinned, "Good, that's fantastic. I'm so relieved."

Draco shared his smile and was at that point admonished by Teddy for not paying enough attention to him. They spent the next little while attempting to teach the little boy how to play chess and he wasn't particularly good at it. When Harry had to leave to take Teddy home, Draco asked him if he would mind signing him out on Friday. Harry said he would but that it would have to wait until after 5pm with work. When he left the hospital that night his spirits were higher than they had been for a little while.

* * *

"Good morning!"

Theo raised an eyebrow at Harry, "Good morning?"

"Why is it a question?" Harry asked as he put a breakfast snack box down on Draco's vacant desk, along with three cups of coffee in cardboard cups.

"Because you're far too happy," Daphne said in amusement.

"It's just a good morning," Harry said calmly, "There's a big meeting today, with lots of important changes for the department."

"That isn't why you're so happy," Hermione said in amusement as she walked into the basement, "Draco's better isn't he?"

Harry tried his best to look nonchalant, "He has feeling back in his legs, but that's not why I'm happy."

"Of course it isn't," Daphne grinned, "Sir," She added hastily.

Harry smiled slightly at her, "Anyway, what did I say about objectiveness? Enjoy your breakfast, while I sit in a room with politicians all day long."

Hermione chuckled, "You'll do fine," She told him as he jogged from the room en-route to the 'big' meeting where all of the critical changes to the DMLE would be discussed.

* * *

When Harry walked into Draco's room he was with a Healer who Harry knew very well after all of the years he had spent in St. Mungo's.

"Hiya Roger," Harry smiled, "Is he finally getting out of here?"

Roger smiled at him, "Looks like it, he's healing up quite nicely. Another two weeks before he can return to work mind you, and then you'll have to keep him off active duty until December."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Great, paperwork."

"Don't complain, it will give you a chance to catch up," Harry said in amusement, "Have you done any paperwork since I hired you?"

"Probably more than you have," Draco said in amusement, "You avoid doing paperwork by badgering my team."

Harry shook his head, "I'm the Head Auror, I actually do my paperwork."

Roger chuckled, "Are you going to be staying with him, Harry?"

Harry frowned, "What? Why would I be staying with him?"

"Well he's going to need someone to be around for the first 48 hours," Roger replied, "Just to make sure there are no emergencies and to administer the potions for the nerve damage."

"You didn't tell me that," Draco said irritably.

"Apologies Mr. Malfoy," Roger said with a glance towards Harry.

"Yeah, it's fine Roger," Harry said offhandedly, "You can stay with me for a couple of days Malfoy."

Draco rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath, Harry ignored him and turned to Roger, "Do you need me to sign him out?"

"Yeah, just here," Roger said as he handed Harry the clipboard he was holding. He jotted his signature down and handed it back to the healer.

"That's perfect," Roger smiled, "Alright then I'll leave you to make your way out. If you feel any symptoms of things getting worse, please come back in Mr. Malfoy."

Draco nodded, and Roger left. Harry threw some clothes at him, "Here, I brought you these."

"How did you get my clothes?" Draco asked with a frown.

"Theo," Harry chuckled, "He picked the lock on your flat for me. I can't believe your wards don't protect against muggle methods of theft. Nice décor by the way, a green and silver bedroom, not at all typical."

"Shut up Potter," Draco said in amusement as he grabbed his wand and changed his clothes with one flick.

Harry rolled his eyes, "You really are dramatic. Do you need a hand up?"

"I can manage," Draco said irritably as he swung his legs out and stood up, he was only a little shaky. He grabbed the simple wooden cane that was sitting next to his bed. He took a breath and steadied himself and then began to walk towards Harry. He had a slight limp, but he didn't seem to be in too much pain.

"Can we leave?" Draco asked pointedly, and Harry realised with a jolt that Draco was at the door.

"Uh, yes," Harry said, "We'll go to Grimmauld Place, I have more bedrooms than I'll ever need."

They left the hospital, and when they got back to Grimmauld place Harry realised awkwardly that he didn't know what to do, "Are you hungry?" Harry finally asked, after Draco had settled into a bedroom on the first floor.

Draco smiled in amusement, "Yes. You don't have house guests very often do you?"

"No," Harry laughed as he led Draco into the basement kitchen, "It's only ever Neville and I here normally."

"Can you even cook?" Draco asked as they stepped out into the cold kitchen and Harry lit the lamps along the wall with a click of his fingers, "All you've ever done at work is bring us pizza, and doughnuts."

"I take offence to that comment," Harry said in amusement as he began opening the cupboards and searching for food, "I'm a fantastic cook. Hermione used to come round here every Friday for a decent meal, she eats so much junk you know. She better start eating better now that she's pregnant."

Draco snorted, "Yeah, you're definitely gay," He said in amusement.

"Can't you cook?" Harry asked as he casually wandered into the pantry and returned with a dead pheasant which he began to pluck.

Draco watched him with interest, "No, we always had house elves to do our cooking. And then I never really learned, when you're living a criminal lifestyle cooking isn't exactly on the agenda."

Harry chuckled as he put a chopping board in front of the blonde, "Here, make yourself useful and cut these onions. Try not to cry too much."

"Uh, how?"

"Just dice them like you'd dice a rats spleen for a potion," Harry said matter of factly.

Draco rolled his eyes, and they fell into a good pattern. They occasionally made small talk as Harry prepared the meat, and Draco cut the vegetables and the potatoes. Not too much later they were sitting at the table eating their dinner.

"This is good," Draco admitted, "I've never tasting cooking so good."

Harry grinned, "See, I have hidden talents. I just don't cook when work is busy and things have been mad lately. I've either been eating with Andromeda or forgetting to eat entirely."

"Cooking is quite similar to potions," Draco said with a frown.

Harry nodded as he swallowed his mouthful, "Yes, I suppose it is."

"But you were dreadful at potions," Draco said with a pointed look, "So how can you cook?"

Harry grinned, "I can _taste_ my cooking to see what it needs more of, I couldn't do that with potions."

Draco laughed at his comment and they finished their meal together in harmony. Once they had eaten they retired to the drawing room and Harry made Draco jealous by pouring himself a glass of firewhiskey. He wasn't allowed any alcohol because it mixed with the nerve repairing potion that he had to take. But on the whole Draco seemed much better, apart from his slight limp he seemed entirely back to normal.

Harry fixed Draco with a long look, "We need to talk about what happened."

Draco froze up a little, "Nothing, I was hysterical. I was dying-"

"In my arms," Harry pointed out, "We have to _talk_ about that."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Fine! I've had feelings for you for a while, Potter. And how do you talk about that? How do you walk up to the chosen one, the bloody boy who lived, the golden fucking hero, and say hey I actually quite fancy you, do you want to go at it sometime?"

Harry was smiling fondly at Draco, "Are you finished?"

Draco shook his head, "Working with you has been a nightmare, do you know that? Please tell me I'm not the only one feeling this _constant_ sexual tension."

"It's not just you," Harry said as he crossed the room to sit down next to Draco on the sofa, "I've been feeling the same for _months_ Draco. I have been flirting with you for _months_."

"I know," Draco said irritably, "And I've been too scared to act on anything…and then when I thought I'd die it all came out."

"And now you can't take it back," Harry said matter of factly.

Draco nodded a little miserably.

"You could look happier," Harry grinned, "You just told me that you like me, and I just told you that I like you so-"

"No," Draco said quickly, "I can't…I can't lie to you anymore."

Harry narrowed his eyes at Draco, "What do you mean?"

Draco sighed, "We've had this conversation before…. when we were in the isolation cells. We had this entire conversation and we kissed then I…I obliviated you.'

"What?" Harry asked sharply.

"I'm sorry," Draco said whispered, "But you wouldn't forget it, and I couldn't cope with everything. The only way you would drop it was if you didn't remember."

"So whats different now?" Harry asked in disbelief, "Do you just want a bloody shag because you've been stuck in a hospital for weeks?"

"No," Draco replied quickly, "I was afraid to be in a relationship with you then. I didn't think that I was good enough for you."

Harry scoffed, "Seriously?"

"Seriously!" Draco said irritably, he pushed himself to his feet, leaning heavily on his cane, "I'm a criminal and you are _Harry Potter_. In what world would that ever work?"

"You can't know that it wouldn't work," Harry said angrily as Draco began to walk away, "And don't you dare walk away Malfoy!"

Draco sighed and turned around, leaning against the wall by the door, "I didn't want to let you down Harry and we both know that's what I'd do. All I've ever done is screw things up."

"Well I think that's bullshit," Harry said irritably, "And I think it's an excuse. You make up excuses because you are scared, Malfoy."

He had walked towards the Slytherin, and was now standing a few inches away from him.

"I am scared Potter," Draco hissed, "You terrify me. What I feel for you scares the shit out of me. I've felt like since I was a 14-year-old boy for crying out loud!"

Harry's eyes flashed as he stared Draco in the eye, "Maybe you need to stop acting like this cautious adult and more like the 14-year-old boy then. He wasn't scared or intimidated by me, he was excited by the challenge I posed to him."

Draco was silent as his eyes instinctively went to Harry's lips. Those lips quirked into a smirk.

"Still scared, Malfoy?"

Draco smirked back and looked up to catch his eyes, "You wish," He said breathily.

Neither of them was sure who moved in first, their lips just crashed together. Draco's cane clattered to the floor noisily, and lay forgotten as Harry easily pinned the taller man to the wall and kissed him with everything that he had. Draco's hands instinctively went to Harry's hair, and Harry groaned slightly against his lips as he deepened the kiss. He took a step closer so that there was no distance at all between himself and Draco and the blonde man smirked slightly as he broke the kiss.

"Don't you think we should perhaps move this upstairs, Harry?" He asked, his voice soft and smooth. It sent shivers down Harry's spine.

"You just got out of St. Mungo's today-" Harry began.

Draco rolled his eyes and pulled Harry into another kiss, "Don't be a fucking heroic idiot," He muttered against his lips.

"Draco-" Harry said, his voice trailing off as Draco's lips reclaimed his again. This time Draco pulled Harry closer to him, and with their bodies pressed so tightly together Harry just wanted to get Draco upstairs and rip his clothes off. But his moral compass was telling him that Draco still needed to recover.

"Harry," Draco groaned, somewhere between irritated and incredibly sexually frustrated, "I have been waiting months for this, I'm not waiting any longer."

Harry smirked and stepped back to open the door, "Fine," He said calmly, "But if you're in agony tomorrow I _will_ say I told you so."

* * *

 _ **12 HOURS LATER...**_

"I am in fucking agony."

Harry snorted as he rolled onto his side to look at the blonde man in his bed, "I told you so."

Draco glanced at Harry, whose glasses were on the bedside table, and whose hair was a mess of black. He couldn't help but smile slightly.

"The healers did say you should rest for a few days," Harry said in amusement, "And that was definitely not resting."

"It was worth it though," Draco grinned.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "It was."

"But if you don't mind I think I'll stay here for the rest of the day," Draco said as he lay back in Harry's bed.

"In my bed?" Harry asked in amusement.

"Well, it is very comfortable," Draco smirked.

Harry shook his head in disbelief, "I was going to say make yourself at home, but clearly you've already done that," He said as he used 'accio' to retrieve the bag with Draco's potions for the day.

Draco hummed thoughtfully, and shut his eyes, as Harry measured out the potions on his bedside table, "Oi, Malfoy. Get these down you."

Draco sighed and pushed himself up, he hissed slightly, "Ouch."

"What actually hurts?" Harry asked as Draco downed the pain potion, and the nerve damage potion.

"My legs," Draco said honestly, "But I suppose that is to be expected given last night's vigorous activities."

"Vigorous?" Harry asked in amusement as he cast a basic diagnostic charm on Draco's legs, "I was being _gentle_ last night, given your predicament."

"Predicament?" Draco scoffed, "I think I was more than active enough thank you very much."

"Yeah and you're suffering from it this morning," Harry said with a smirk, "You've got a bit of swelling. It will go down in a few hours, but you will have to rest up today."

"Is sleeping resting?" Draco mumbled as he turned on his side, and got comfortable.

Harry shook his head in amusement and was tempted to get comfortable himself and go back to sleep when he heard the familiar snap of the front door opening downstairs. He frowned as he got to his feet and threw on his dressing gown, Draco was practically snoring again so he didn't even look up as Harry slipped out of the bedroom and walked down the stairs. He cursed when he saw Andromeda standing in the entrance corridor with Teddy.

"Uh, Andy, Teddy, hi."

"You forgot, didn't you?" Andromeda asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I didn't forget," Harry lied, "I knew it was this weekend, it just slipped my mind temporarily."

"He has been looking forward to the Puddlemere match this afternoon for _weeks_ Harry," Andromeda said under her breath.

"And it's going to be great," Harry smiled at Teddy, "You looking forward to the match mate?"

Teddy nodded eagerly, "I can't wait Uncle Harry!"

Harry's smile widened, "Why don't you go grab some breakfast?"

"I already ate," Teddy giggled, "It's nearly lunchtime Uncle Harry! Why are you still in your pajamas?"

"I was having a long lie," Harry said, technically that was true.

"I'm going to go get my Puddlemere top!" Teddy shouted and he darted up the stairs.

"No Teddy, not up there!" Harry shouted.

"What's up there?" Andromeda asked curiously.

"A naked Draco Malfoy," Harry muttered, missing the look of amusement on Andromeda's face as he ran after Teddy. He wasn't fast enough though, because Teddy had already run into Harry's bedroom.

"Hi Uncle Draco!" Teddy said cheerfully as he began to raid through Harry's wardrobe.

Draco raised an eyebrow at Harry, "Hi…Teddy."

"I forgot I had him this weekend," Harry whispered as Teddy emerged from the wardrobe with a Puddlemere top.

The blue haired boy sat down on the bed and looked from Draco, to Harry.

"Is Uncle Draco your boyfriend, Uncle Harry?'"

"Uh," Harry began, a bit flustered, "Eh…well…"

Draco shook his head in disbelief at Harry's flustered reaction, "Yes Teddy, I am. Is that okay with you?"

Teddy shrugged, "I'm glad. Grandma said it was about time you got in bed together."

Harry had to try and hide his laughter at that comment but Teddy didn't seem to notice, "Are you coming to the Puddlemere game too Uncle Draco?"

"I don't know, am I?" Draco asked, catching Harry's eye.

The dark haired man smiled, "If you promise to use your cane and take it easy, yes you are."

Draco gave Teddy a slight nod, "Then there we have it, I am. Now can one of you two get me breakfast? I'm starving."

Harry shook his head in amusement, "Come on Teddy, let's go make Draco some breakfast."

The little boy ran out of the room and Harry lowered his voice, "We need to talk about last night at some point today."

"I know," Draco said honestly, "But for now let's just look after Teddy."

Harry nodded, and smiled slightly, "So, how do you like your eggs cooked?"

* * *

By the time Harry, Draco and Teddy returned from the Puddlemere match, Neville was back at Grimmauld Place. The last time Harry had seen him Neville had told him he was going to pack up the last of his Dads things and to visit his Mother in a secret ward of St. Mungo's. When he hadn't returned the previous night Harry had just assumed that he had spent it with Daphne. But as they entered the drawing room, they saw him lying on the sofa.

Draco prodded him with his cane before he sat down heavily on one of the armchairs, and Harry kicked the sofa as he walked past.

Neville looked terrible as he opened his eyes. They were bloodshot, his hair was a mess, he looked pale and sick. He groaned as he glanced up at Harry.

"Please tell me you didn't," Harry said, disappointment edging into his voice.

"I can't, because I did," Neville remarked bitterly.

"How stupid are you?" Harry asked angrily, "You were just getting better and your life was finally in a good place! Daphne loves you, can't you see that? Did you blow it all last night, Neville?"

"I didn't bloody shag anyone if that's what you mean!"

"Neville!'"

"Longbottom!"

Harry and Draco shouted simultaneously. Draco shook his head and covered Teddy's ears, the little boy just giggled and whispered, "He said naughty words."

"Yes, he did," Draco said, pushing himself to his feet and taking Teddy's hand with his left hand as he leant on his cane with his right, "Come on, why don't we go bake in the kitchen, or maybe I can teach you some Quidditch moves outside yeah? We'll go away from the bad man with his naughty words," He was saying as he led Teddy to the door, shooting a glare Neville's way for good measure as the two of them left.

"Wow," Neville remarked sarcastically as the door snapped shut, "You two are literally adopting this wolf child together."

"No, we aren't," Harry said irritably, "And don't call him that. You're just changing the subject."

"Why's Malfoy here then?" Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why do you _think_ hes here?" Harry asked pointedly.

Neville snorted, "So you actually went there then? Cane and all?"

"You're still drunk aren't you?" Harry asked angrily.

Neville shrugged, "Probably. It's easier to be drunk."

Harry shook his head angrily, "No, I'm not doing this again. I'm not going to be caring and sensitive and hug you because you don't deserve that this time. Yes, your Father is dead and it's okay to grieve Neville but not like this. You have got a _good_ life-"

"A good life?" Neville barked angrily, "You call _this_ a good life? I used to have a good life! I used to be a Class I Auror, with good friends and a good team. And now I'm a Class II Auror with a team that isn't meant to exist that is made up of criminals! I'm a drunken arsehole, and my girlfriend is a murderer!"

"Yeah well my boyfriend is an ex-Death Eater, nobody is perfect," Harry remarked.

"I'm fucking serious Harry!" Neville spat.

"So am I," Harry said coolly, "You say that team is made up of criminals, but we both know that isn't true Neville. That team is made up of adults who used to be kids like us, _just_ like us. Only, you had your Grandmother, and I had Ron and Hermione, and we had _each other_. They didn't have that stabilizing factor. None of them are bad people, yes Daphne has killed people, people who used her and made her into a bloody prostitute! Draco was a Death Eater, something he was forced into. Theo robbed banks because he didn't know there was another way to put his intelligence to use, nobody would hire him because of who his _Father_ was. And Eddie was a Muggle-born who was bullied rotten at school, just like Hermione, but he didn't have anyone to tell him things would be okay, not like she had me and Ron and you. So he grew up thinking all he was good for was being a sidekick to someone of a higher status than him. Those are their stories Neville."

"What point are you trying to prove?" Neville asked quietly.

"How different are they to the boy whose parents were tortured to insanity, the boy who struggled through school because he was so nervous, the boy who got bullied senselessly by Severus Snape. The boy who thought he was worth nothing, until someone told him that he was worth a million times more than people like Snape? You became an Auror because you wanted to help people, people like you," Harry said quietly, "And then there's me, the boy-who-lived. The boy whose parents were tragically murdered. The boy who got the shit beaten out of him growing up, who had to fight a dark lord every year since he was 11 years old. Merlin, I could have gone dark and Godric knows there were times when I wanted to Neville. But I became an Auror because I fought my whole life and I really didn't think I'd be good at anything else. How are we different to them? We all have our demons and we all battle them every single day."

Neville was silent, and then the inevitable happened. His head dropped into his hands and his voice got choked up, "I don't feel like I can anymore Harry. I feel like the weight of everything is just pushing me into the ground, and nobody gets it. I just feel so alone."

"I get it," Harry sighed as he sat down next to his best friend and put his arm around his shoulder, "I know what it's like to lose your Father Neville because I've lost three. I wasn't old enough to grieve for my real Dad but I know what missing him felt like. And then I found Sirius, and when he died I thought I'd never feel normal again. I felt like I had this huge hole in my chest that would never heal, I felt numb and I felt completely alone. Then when Remus and Tonks died…I really didn't know how I'd get over it so I drank, you know that I did, just like you. But it didn't help anything Nev. I shouldn't have been out drinking and sleeping with a different person every night. I should have been at home with Teddy, feeding him, rocking him to sleep…I missed so much because of it, Nev."

Neville nodded, but didn't lift his face up to look at Harry, "I don't want to miss anything and I don't want to screw anything up with Daphne."

"Did you really not sleep with anyone last night?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Really, I didn't," Neville sighed, "I said I needed some space so I went to the Hogs Head…"

"Well I don't suppose you'd pick up any decent catches there," Harry joked.

Neville didn't laugh, "I feel numb and empty and angry. I feel so angry at you Harry," He said as he turned to him, "But you said it, you're practically my brother and I miss you, and I need you. Nobody else gets it and I don't want to be alone, I want your help, I need your help."

With these words Neville completely broke down and Harry sighed and hugged his friend.

"Thought you said you weren't going to hug me," Neville mumbled.

"I changed my mind," Harry said softly, "I'm here Neville, you can be angry at me, you can hate me. But I won't go anywhere, I'm here and I will force you to go back to therapy since you relapsed so badly."

"I deserve that," Neville sighed.

"How many drinks did you have?" Harry asked as he pulled back from the hug and Neville wiped his eyes.

"Lost count after the 8th," He muttered.

Harry sighed in a long suffering way, "You do realise that you'll have to tell Daphne, don't you?"

"I can't," Neville said quietly, "I can't let her see me like this. I can't tell her about everything."

"I'll do it," Harry said, "If that's what you want."

Neville nodded.

"Because she has to know," Harry said honestly, "You two seem serious."

Neville nodded again, "I just wish I knew I could actually provide for her," He said miserably, "My pay is shit as a Class II, I feel useless and worthless."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I wasn't supposed to tell you about this, but you're being made a Class I on Monday. It was _supposed_ to be a surprise, but you're being a self-destructive idiot and maybe it will stop you drinking again this weekend, I dunno…but you realise that you can't keep doing this, don't you? When you marry Daphne and have kids there will be people who rely on you, who _need_ you and you won't be able to go out and get wrecked when things get shit. I couldn't, not now that I've got Teddy."

"When we get married and have kids?" Neville asked in amusement, "I think you're getting ahead of yourself."

"Yeah and you're lying if you say you don't want that with her," Harry said with a slight smile, "I've known you forever, I can tell that you're completely in love with her and her with you. You're in it for the long haul, both of you."

Neville smiled sadly, "If she'll still have me after you've talked to her."

"She will," Harry said confidently, "And did you totally miss the fact that you're gonna be a Class I?"

It only seemed to hit him there, and he actually smiled, "What? You're remaking me a Class I?"

Harry laughed, "Yeah, on Monday."

He positively beamed, "Thank you Harry, thank you so much!"

Harry smiled at his friend, "Don't thank me, you deserve it. I'll go by Daphne's flat now. You should go find Draco and Teddy, and probably apologise for your bad language."

Neville nodded and cleared his throat as they both got to their feet and silently walked downstairs, they followed the muddy footsteps out of the entrance corridor, into the back garden where Draco was sitting on the patio watching Teddy hang upside down from his broom.

"All screamed out?" Draco asked in amusement.

"Just about," Neville sighed as he sat down next to the blonde man, "How are the legs?"

"Sore," Draco shrugged, "But they'll heal. The cane is only temporary."

"Good," Neville said with a small smile.

Draco glanced towards Teddy as the little boy righted himself, "Ted, get me an apple," He called.

"Okay Uncle Draco!" Teddy said as he showed off by zooming around the apple tree, grabbing three apples as he did, and then throwing them to Draco, Harry and Neville.

Harry laughed, "Nice one, Teddy!" He called.

Draco chuckled and bit into the apple, and Harry shook his head with a smile, "What is it with you and apples?"

Draco frowned, "What do you mean?"

"You're always eating apples," Harry said in amusement, "Every time I see you at lunchtime."

Draco shrugged and took another bite, "I just like apples. Is that illegal, Potter?"

"I really think it should be Harry now, after last night," Harry retorted.

Neville screwed up his face, "Too much information."

Draco smirked, "Are we making you uncomfortable, Longbottom?"

"Don't say yes, he'll just do it more," Harry chuckled as he slipped the apple into his pocket.

Draco's eyes flashed mischievously and Harry said, "Draco, Neville, entertain my Godson for a while. I need to go and make things right with Neville's girlfriend for him."

"I think I'm just going to pretend that I didn't hear that incredibly weird sentence," Draco said matter of factly as he turned back to Teddy.

"Probably for the best," Harry said in amusement as he walked back into the house.

* * *

When Daphne answered Harry's floo call she immediately narrowed her eyes at him.

"Is he dead?"

"No," Harry replied.

"Is he in St. Mungo's?"

"No."

"Did he fuck someone else last night?" Daphne asked bitterly.

"No, he didn't," Harry replied calmly.

"Is he drunk?" Daphne finally asked.

"I think he's just beginning to sober up," Harry admitted.

Daphne nodded, "I suppose you should come through," She said as she stepped back and unlocked her floo.

Harry stepped through it into her comfortable living room. She deactivated the floo and glanced at him, "Do you want a cup of tea?"

"I'd love one," Harry said honestly, "But I'll make it. I'm the one here to tell you the bad news."

Daphne smiled slightly as she led him into the kitchen and pulled two mugs out of the cupboard, "Tea, coffee, and sugar, it's all in that cupboard," She said as she sat down at the kitchen table.

Harry set about making the tea, and said, "I'm sorry that I'm the one doing this."

"Just tell me you're not breaking up with me for him," Daphne said dryly.

"I'm not," Harry said honestly, "I have to tell you something about him. He wants you to know and he understands that you need to know but he can't bring himself to tell you."

"I told him about all the men I've murdered," Daphne sighed, "It can't get worse than that."

"To Neville, I suppose this is," Harry sighed as he set a cup of tea down in front of Daphne and sat down across from her, "He's an alcoholic Daphne and in his mind that is the worst thing he can be."

"He's killed people and he thinks being an alcoholic is worse?" Daphne asked in disbelief.

Harry nodded and caught her eye, "Yes. He needs to be in control, all of his life he's struggled to stay in control of his feelings and he's never quite managed. He wants to be a good person, that is all he ever wants from life, to be a good man."

"He is a good man," Daphne said softly.

"I know that, and you know that, but Neville doesn't," Harry told her, "He looks at himself and sees a monster. He's struggled on and off with drinking since the war. He hurts and he wants it to stop and a few drinks make it stop. But then he gets angry and bitter and he shouts and he hurts people. He's scared, Daphne."

"Of hurting me?" Daphne asked quietly.

Harry nodded and undid his shirt, "I'll show you," He said as pulled it off and put it down on the chair, "Neville always says he and I are like brothers, doesn't he?"

Daphne nodded, her brow knitting together with confusion.

"Well he did this to me, this is the newest one," Harry said as he showed her the pink, still nasty looking scar from their latest duel when Neville had used Sectumsempra, "That was when I told him his Father was the Puppet Master. This one was from when he got drunk and slept with Ginny, _while_ I was dating her," He added as he pointed to a shiny burn mark on his lower back.

Daphne's frown remained fixed on her face as Harry pointed to a small circular scar on his left arm, "This one, he used a piercing charm on me when I had a go at him for being an idiot and losing his job for killing the guy who tortured his parents…and this one was the first, when I decided it would be a good idea to let him duel me to rid himself of some of his anger after the war."

Harry pointed to another long thin scar, and pulled his shirt back on. Daphne was silent as he did so, and she remained silent as Harry sat back down and took a sip of tea.

"He's dangerous," Daphne realised.

Harry nodded, "He gets angry and then he feels guilty for what he's done in his anger and breaks down. He's not just destructive, he's self-destructive. But it's only when he's drinking and he hasn't been recently. Not since I set him up on this team, he really cleaned himself up, he met you and everything was looking up again."

"Until his Father died," Daphne said quietly.

"He will stop again," Harry said firmly, "I know he will and if you two really are serious, he'll change when there is someone who needs him."

"Someone like a child?" Daphne asked in disbelief, "Are you really expecting me to want to marry him and have children with him after what you've just told me?"

"He wouldn't hurt you," Harry said honestly, "I know he wouldn't and I think he knows that he wouldn't too. But he had a feeling you would react badly to his…history...so I told him that I would tell you."

"I suppose we're a perfect pair," Daphne muttered irritably, "I'm a murderer and he's a violent alcoholic."

"Neither of you are what you think you are," Harry said honestly, "You aren't a murderer. The people you killed deserved to die for what they did to you, and what they did to other girls. You weren't the first Daphne and you wouldn't have been the last."

"That doesn't make it okay," Daphne said as tears burned in her eyes.

"It changes things," Harry said gently, "The reason we do things is important, not just the act itself. I killed Neville's Father, but he had killed 7 people and he would have killed more so that makes it the right thing to do in my book. All of our actions have consequences, they set off a chain of events and I'm not advocating murder but sometimes we really do have to act for the greater good."

"I thought you hated that idea, I thought you found it sickening," Daphne said with a raised eyebrow.

"I did and I know that Hermione still does," Harry sighed, "But you realise something when you become an Auror. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices, you can't always save everybody. Sometimes you have to do what is best for the majority, even if the minority suffer for it and it isn't just Dumbledore and Grindelwald's philosophy. It's a Muggle movement called Utilitarianism."

"So you're saying that I acted for the greater good when I killed those men?" Daphne asked tearfully.

Harry nodded, "Yes, just like I did when I killed Frank…and Voldemort. You aren't who you think you are."

"And Neville?" Daphne asked as she wiped her tears, "How is he not who he thinks he is?"

"He's an alcoholic, yes," Harry said darkly, "But he stopped before and he will again. He thinks it will always come back to haunt him but it won't because one day he'll get married and he'll have children. Neville and I are similar in a lot of ways and I know that as soon as that happens he will fall in love with that baby and his world will revolve around it. He'll never think about running out on his life, he would never be able to do that."

"Just like you could never do that to Teddy," Daphne said softly.

Harry nodded, "And as far as violence goes, Neville is the gentlest soul I know. When he gets angry he hurts me and he hurts the bad guys but never anybody else. And I've hurt him in the past too. He would never hurt you, I can swear that on Teddy's life."

Daphne smiled weakly, "I can't believe you're here playing match maker," She said with a laugh, "You can't even get the guts to tell Draco you fancy him. Is he still in the hospital, by the way?"

"No," Harry smirked, "I signed him out last night and took him back to my house to keep an eye on him. He ended up staying the night."

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "About time. Did you two get any sleep last night?"

Harry laughed, "Not much and then I forget I had Ted this weekend so he showed up and ran into the bedroom…"

Daphne laughed loudly, "Well, that secret won't last long. That boy is terrible at keeping secrets."

"I know," Harry chuckled, "I've not even had a chance to speak to Draco about it yet mind you. Between having to take Teddy out today and sort out Neville's mess now."

"I understand why he didn't want to tell me," Daphne said honestly, "But I do need to talk to him in person."

Harry nodded as he got to his feet, "Come back with me, I need to stop off at Tesco and get some food for dinner. But there will be enough for everyone, so you should stay."

"That sounds nice," Daphne agreed as she slipped her feet into shoes, and grabbed a jacket, "But Harry, what the hell is Tesco?"

Harry grinned as he walked to her front door and opened it, "I'll show you, it's amazing, you'll love it."

* * *

By the time they returned to Grimmauld Place chaos had inevitably ensued. They walked out onto the patio where Draco was killing himself laughing and they soon saw the cause of the hilarity. Neville was hanging from the apple tree, and Teddy was giggling from his broom.

Harry had to suppress his own laughter, "Why is Neville hanging from my apple tree?"

"Because somebody had to entertain Teddy, and my legs are kind of useless right now," Draco said as he wiped away tears of laughter.

"Get me down from here Malfoy!" Neville barked.

Draco grinned, "No, I think you should _hang_ on a little longer Neville."

Harry rolled his eyes, albeit to hide his amusement, "Draco, let him down."

Draco sighed half-heartedly, but Harry knew it was false, "Always ruining my fun Potter," He remarked as he put a bouncing charm on the ground so that Neville could let go. Once he had dusted himself off he walked over to them.

"I _told_ you I hadn't ridden a broomstick since I was 11," Neville muttered irritably, "Hi Daphne."

"Hi," Daphne said as amusement flickered in her eyes, "Do you think we could go chat somewhere Neville, alone?"

"With pleasure," Neville said, glaring at Draco as he led Daphne towards the pretty part of the gardens, not the part that Teddy wrecked with his broomstick and his toys.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco, "That was mean."

"That was fun," Draco corrected.

Harry let out a small laugh, "You can't torture my friends because your lack of leg function is making you bored, Draco."

Draco grinned, "Really? How did your chat with Daphne go?"

"I think she's willing to talk things out with him," Harry said as he leant in the doorway, "Did you know?"

"That he was that bad?" Draco asked, he shook his head, "No. I knew he drank when things got bad. But then again, don't we all?"

"One or two drinks, yes," Harry agreed dryly, "But we don't drink a whole bar."

Draco nodded as he glanced towards the rose garden where they were sitting, hand in hand, "But he'll sort himself out, for her."

"I know he will," Harry said softly as he looked Draco in the eye, "I didn't know you were a romantic."

Draco smiled slightly, "There's a lot about me you don't know."

"I'll tell you one thing I do want to know though," Harry said, "You said to Teddy earlier that you were my boyfriend."

"Did you want it to be a one night stand?" Draco asked.

"No," Harry replied honestly.

Draco raised an eyebrow, "Then what's the problem?"

Harry chuckled, and glanced down for a moment. When he looked up he saw that Draco's eyes were sparkling playfully so he said softly, "There isn't one."

"Good," Draco said as he pushed himself up, and steadied himself with his cane, "Don't suppose you want a hand with dinner?"

"Sure," Harry agreed as he glanced over to where Teddy was playing in the sand pit, "Ted! Time to clean up for dinner!"

* * *

They all helped prepare dinner and Harry was just thinking about asking Hermione if she wanted to pop round when Neville and Daphne walked into the kitchen hand in hand.

Harry smiled slightly as he looked up from the pasta he was cooking, "You all good?"

"We're good," Neville replied, a genuine smile on his face once more.

Daphne grinned, "Yes, we are. And it appears you two are as well, you've got him _peeling potatoes_?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "I enjoy cooking, it's very therapeutic. Just like making a potion."

"Perfect, I hope you stay," Neville said in amusement, "I can't cook anything."

"Are you staying then?" Harry asked curiously, "I thought you'd want to - Teddy not the sharp knife, the special one! - find a place of your own."

Neville chuckled as Harry eyed Teddy carefully, "You trying to kick me out?"

"Nah, of course not," Harry replied honestly as he washed his hands, "I was just thinking with you and Daphne…you'd want some space."

"In the long-run, yeah," Neville said, and Daphne nodded in agreement.

"But we're in no hurry, we want to focus on our careers for the moment," Daphne added.

"Makes sense," Harry smiled, "Do you guys mind if I invite Hermione round tonight? She never eats properly and I reckon she could do with a good meal."

"It's your house, go ahead," Draco remarked.

Neville nodded, "Yeah, it'll be nice to see Hermione. What are we having for dinner anyway?"

"It's a mix and match thing," Harry said offhandedly, "I thought we could eat outside and I'll barbecue some meat off. I know it's winter but I've got a weather control charm on the garden."

"You are such a woman!" Neville said in amusement as Harry activated his floo.

Draco just sniggered his agreement, and Teddy was oblivious to everything going on around him as he concentrated very hard on cutting onions with a small, blunt knife.

"Draco," Harry said as he threw some floo into the fireplace, "Can you keep an eye on Teddy please?"

"Sure," He replied as he turned his eyes to the boy.

"Hey Harry," Hermione smiled through the floo.

"Hey," Harry said happily, "Do you fancy coming over for dinner? We're doing a winter barbecue sort of thing."

Hermione's face fell, "Oh, I'd love to…but Theo's staying at the moment."

Harry laughed, "Bring him along then, if you can't tell I'm kind of cooking for the lot here."

Hermione chuckled, "I know, but Eddie and Dana are here too. We were going to have a few drinks together."

Harry said, "Well they can all come. We might as well get the whole team together."

"Hang on Harry," Hermione said, and her face disappeared for a few minutes, 'Guys, Harry's having a winter barbecue, the rest of the team are at his house. Do you want to go over?"

There was some mumbling, and Hermione's face appeared again, "We'll come through," She said.

Harry stepped back and unlocked the floo, they climbed through. Hermione, Theo, Eddie and Dana.

'You all look glamourous," Daphne said cheerfully.

Dana looked vaguely embarrassed, "It's just a dress."

Eddie grinned at her, "But it's a nice dress. Is this little guy Teddy?"

Teddy smiled, "That's me! Who are you?"

"Teddy," Harry chuckled, "That's rude."

"It's okay, I don't mind," Eddie said brightly, "I'm Eddie, I'm friends with your Uncle Harry and Draco. This is Dana, my girlfriend. You know Hermione right?"

Teddy nodded and cocked his head at her, "Is that your new boyfriend Aunt Hermione?"

Hermione nodded with a smile, "This is Theo, Teddy."

"Is he the one Uncle Harry said he would beat up if he hurt you?" Teddy asked curiously.

Theo paled slightly and Hermione shot Harry an amused look, "Really?"

"I didn't know he was listening!" Harry said, raising his hands in the air.

Draco grinned at him, "And I'm the bad influence on Teddy?"

"Yes, you are," Harry said, turning the hobs off, "And I've just realised that I'm out of tomatoes. Can you make sure Teddy's careful with that knife while I get some more from the greenhouse?"

Draco nodded, "Sure. You hear that Teddy? No fingers will be chopped off today."

Teddy nodded, "I'm not 4 Uncle Draco," He said matter of factly.

Harry laughed, "No you aren't," he agreed as he left the kitchen.

When the backdoor had swung shut loudly, Hermione raised an eyebrow at the blonde man, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Draco asked as he got back to his peeling of potatoes.

"That domestic display," Theo grinned.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Whatever you are insinuating-"

"What does incinerating mean Uncle Draco?" Teddy asked, making the others chuckle.

"Incinerating is when you set something on fire, and that wasn't what I said. I said insinuating, that means when someone is trying to say something without actually saying it," Draco explained calmly.

"Okay," Teddy frowned.

"So," Hermione smirked at Draco, "How long have you and Harry been together?"

"Since this morning," Teddy said matter of factly, "Uncle Draco was in Uncle Harry's bed," He lowered his voice and giggled, " _Naked_."

Hermione and Dana grinned, Eddie burst out laughing, Theo hi-fived Teddy and Draco blushed profusely. Harry had been gone for less than 5 minutes and all chaos had broken loose.

* * *

When Harry came back with an armful of tomatoes he looked at his amused friends suspiciously, "Were you talking about me? My ears are burning."

"That's an old wife's tale," Daphne scoffed.

"But we did establish that you have a new boyfriend," Theo said in amusement.

"They guessed, I didn't actually _say_ anything," Draco said irritably, "And Teddy kind of outed us."

"I didn't realise it was a secret," Harry said in amusement as he distractedly threw some floo powder into the fireplace.

"It's not," Draco agreed, "Where are you going now?"

"Nowhere, I'm calling Ron," Harry said quickly as Ron's head appeared in the fire.

"Hey Harry," The redhead said, "I'm kind of busy, so what's up?"

"It's a situation, can you come round?" Harry asked.

Ron looked sheepish, "Like I said, I'm kind of busy. Is it to do with work?"

"Yeah, it is," Harry replied, "What are you doing that's so important?"

"Nothing," Ron shrugged.

Harry raised an eyebrow at his friend, "Who are you with?"

"Nobody," Ron began, but upon Harry's pointed look he knew he wouldn't get away with that, "Just a girl from school."

"Well you can bring her with you," Harry said in amusement, "I really need you to come round."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Ron said, "You wouldn't like her so…"

Harry rolled her eyes, "Who is she?"

"Nobody you know," Ron replied quickly.

"Ron, I know everyone you went to school with," Harry said in amusement, "All of our friends are mutual."

Ron was floundering now, "Nah she's older, no, I mean younger. Yeah, she was in Ginny's year."

"Look unless she's McGonagall there isn't going to be a problem is there? Just get dressed and come over, it's important-"

"Ron, where's your coffee?"

Harry frowned, "Ron, is that-"

"Nah, like I said, nobody you know," Ron replied quickly, "I'm going to have to go Harry."

"Ron," Harry said firmly, "I really need you to come over, _tonight."_

Ron opened his mouth, with more objections waiting to spill out. But he never got the chance to say anything.

"Ugh, Nescafe really? Why don't you drink Kenco?"

Harry's eyes widened, "It _is_ Susan!"

Ron looked a little panicked, "Uh-"

"You're sleeping with my ex?" Harry asked in an undertone, "Our old _boss_?"

"Hey, you slept with her when she _was_ our boss," Ron retorted, "She's just a senior Juror now."

"You are taking forever Ron, is it work-" Susan asked as she walked into the living room behind Ron, she was fully dressed at least which was more than he could say for Ron who was only in his boxers.

"Hi Susan," Harry said in amusement, "Right, Ron. Secret is out, you're sleeping with my ex. I'm dating an ex-Death Eater, so all scores are settled I guess. Now are you two going to come round for dinner?"

Susan raised an eyebrow at Harry, "So you _are_ dating Draco!"

"Yes, I am," Harry smirked, "And you are sleeping with the acting Head Auror. That makes two now Susan. Do you have a thing for Aurors?"

Susan smirked back, "Maybe I do. Why do you want us to come round for dinner so much?"

"Because I have a big announcement to make about work," Harry said, "And it affects Ron. But besides that, there's going to be a barbecue and alcohol so…"

"A barbecue in winter?" Susan asked with a frown.

"Yeah it's one of his weird traditions," Ron muttered as he shoved Harry's head out of the fireplace, "We'll be there, see you in a bit."

When Harry emerged from the fire Hermione was watching him, "Did I hear that right? Ron and Susan?"

"You heard right," Harry said in amusement.

"So what's this big announcement?" Draco asked from where he was now finishing off the potato salad.

"I'll tell you when Ron and Susan get here. Did you make that yourself?" Harry asked in surprise.

"No," Draco remarked in amusement, "Granger helped."

"You're dating my best friend, Draco," Hermione said with a smile, "I think you can call me Hermione now."

"He still calls me Potter so I wouldn't get your hopes up," Harry said with a grin as he and Draco began to transfer the food into bowls to take outside.

"Just answer me one question Harry," Daphne frowned, "Do we still have jobs?"

"Yeah," Harry replied with a wave of his hand, "You all have jobs don't worry. Now, drinks! Neville, you'll have water, right?"

"Right," Neville said firmly.

"Draco, Theo, Eddie. Firewhiskey?"

This was met with three nods, "Daphne, Dana. Wine?"

"Red," Daphne smirked.

"White," Dana replied.

"Good taste," Hermione said in amusement, looking at Dana.

"So you'll have the same," Harry said, but then he remembered, "Oh no, you're not drinking at the moment are you?"

Hermione shot him a warning glare, "No, I'm…dieting," She improvised, "So water will be fine."

"Alright," Harry said, "Ted, what do you want, firewhiskey, butterbeer?"

Teddy giggled, "I can't drink alcohol Uncle Harry, I'm only 7!"

"Are you?" Harry teased, "I forgot. What do you want then?"

"Lemonade please Uncle Harry."

"Lemonade it is," Harry said, "You guys might as well move outside. We'll be with you in a bit, Ted you'll show them where to go won't you?"

Teddy nodded and jumped to his feet, "Come with me!" He said as he darted from the room.

"So what's this announcement?" Draco asked when they were alone in the kitchen.

"I really can't tell you until everyone is here," Harry said, "And I nearly blew Hermione's secret there."

"I noticed, she looked like she was going to hex you," Draco sniggered.

"I wouldn't put it past her," Harry muttered as the floo activated and Ron and Susan walked through it together.

Draco smirked, "So are you two…a thing?"

"It's way too soon to answer that question," Susan remarked, "But you two clearly are."

"And it's about bloody time," Ron added.

Harry rolled his eyes, "So everyone says. Ron; firewhiskey? Suse; white wine?"

They both said yes so Draco got the drinks ready on a tray and Harry carried the food into the garden. Once all drinks had been distributed and the barbecue was on to heat up Harry turned to his expectant friends.

"Alright, I do have news but I think Dana has something to tell us first," Harry said with a smile her way.

Dana nodded, "I resigned yesterday. After everything that happened I'm not sure I have the nerves to do this job for much longer. I'm retraining in the teaching of Defensive magic."

Eddie smiled proudly at his girlfriend and tightened his grip on her shoulder.

Harry watched the others congratulate Dana on her career change, he let them all say their bit before he spoke up again, "This does mean there will be a slight change in the way things are run for the rest of us. Team 1 no longer exists."

"What?" Ron asked in disbelief.

Harry nodded, "We've been dissolved."

"How can there be no team 1?" Ron asked, "It can't just go from team 0 to team 2."

"It won't," Harry said, "Because the department is changing. From now on there will be departments of Aurors just like we have Basic Crime Aurors. We're going to have a Narcotics team, a murder team, a kidnapping team, you name it."

"Wait," Draco frowned, "What about my team?"

"It doesn't exist anymore, not that it ever did officially anyway," Harry said with a shake of his head, "Kingsley decided it was a good idea to get specific after the two dirty Aurors we've put away recently. The good news is that you will all be sticking together, you aren't supposed to know this yet but the murder team consists of Draco, Daphne, Eddie and Theo. Ron, you're going to be assigned to Narcotics since you did a lot of your training in that."

Ron nodded, "Thank Merlin for that. I can't take too many murder cases, they really get me down."

"That was why I recommended you for Narcotics," Harry said with a smile.

"What about you and Neville?" Eddie asked, looking between them with a frown.

Neville smiled at Daphne and said, "I'm handing my notice in on Monday. This last year has been enough to teach me that I'm not cut out for this life indefinitely. I've been an Auror for nearly 8 years, but it's time to move on now. I've been offered a job teaching Herbology at Hogwarts."

Harry looked at Neville in surprise, "Really?"

Neville nodded cheerfully, "I wasn't sure if I was going to take the job. But after last night…I think it's the best thing for me."

"And I agreed," Daphne said, gripping his hand.

"Well good for you Neville," Harry said happily.

Hermione nodded, "You will be a wonderful teacher Neville."

Theo and Eddie were both nodding too, "We will miss you though," Theo said.

"Yeah," Eddie agreed, "The department won't be the same without you."

"Well we've trained our apprentices now," Harry said with a smile, "It's time for us to move on and let you guys keep up our good work."

"You're leaving too?" Draco asked in surprise, this was the first he had heard about it.

"I'm seriously thinking about it," Harry said honestly, "I said that I would stay for the next 6 months or so and help the new head of the department implement all of these new changes. But when the new Hogwarts term starts in September I may well take up the Defence Against the Dark Arts position that Minerva offers me every year."

Neville laughed loudly, "We really are like brothers, aren't we? I had no idea you were thinking of resigning."

Harry chuckled, "I had no idea that you were either. But I suppose this last case was just the last straw for those of us who have been working in the Ministry for a prolonged period of time. Teddy's getting a bit older now, and I think the quiet life would be pretty nice."

"I like the busy life," Draco admitted with a chuckle.

"So did I, for 8 years," Harry said with a smile, "But it does get old after a while."

"I can't believe you're both leaving," Daphne said, "The department just won't be the same without you and your chats on that bloody balcony."

"Language!" Draco chastised her as Teddy giggled.

"We'll still be around all of the time," Harry said in amusement, "Neville's going to be in and out visiting you and I'll have to stop in every so often and make sure Draco isn't ruining my department."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Draco said sarcastically.

Harry just shot him a grin.

"So if you and Neville are both leaving, who is going to be the new Head Auror?" Susan asked curiously, "I'm assuming you'll step down fairly soon, even if you are sticking around generally to help implement the changes."

Harry looked pointedly at Ron.

"Me?" The redhead asked in disbelief.

"The way I see it, there's nobody better qualified," Harry said, "The job offer is going to be extended tomorrow."

"Bloody hell," Ron breathed.

"You had better say yes," Susan said, nudging him in the ribs, "You'd make a great Head Auror!"

"I'm hardly going to turn down that offer," Ron said, grinning cheerfully, "Thanks for deciding to quit mate."

Harry laughed and said, "You're welcome. Oh, and while we're on the subject of changes at work, I have a few promotions to hand out. Draco, Daphne, Eddie, Theo and Ron, I need your badges."

They all obliged and placed their badges on the patio table. Harry tapped Daphne's first and handed it back to her, "Auror Daphne Greengrass, you are officially a Class I."

Daphne grinned broadly, and a little tearfully, "My Father is going to be so proud," she breathed as Neville beamed at her.

Harry smiled fondly at the blonde girl and then tapped Eddie's badge. When he handed it back, "Auror Edward Carmichael, welcome to the Class I family."

Eddie beamed from ear to ear and Dana kissed him in a celebratory fashion, making the others laugh

Harry tapped Theo's badge next and held it out to the former Slytherin, "Auror Theodore Nott, you are also a Class I Auror now."

Theo just stared at his badge with shaking hands, Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder, "Hey, are you okay?"

Theo nodded, and swallowed a lump in his throat as tears came to his eyes.

Hermione laughed, "Isn't it supposed to be me who's emotional?" She asked.

Theo laughed too and wiped his eyes, "Sorry, I've just wanted to be an Auror _forever_."

Hermione gripped his hand, and whispered, "I'm so proud of you."

"Wait…" Eddie said as he glanced over at Hermione and Theo, "Hermione…you aren't drinking and you're supposed to be emotional. Are you pregnant?"

"Way to let the cat out of the bag Eddie," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow.

"You're pregnant?" Neville asked in surprise.

Hermione smiled slightly, "Well, it's out now. Yes, about 3 months."

Daphne smiled, "Congratulations, I never thought I'd meet someone who could tame Theodore Nott."

"Well if anyone could it's you, Granger - I mean, Hermione," Draco said, making the others chuckle.

Harry watched them all with smiles as they congratulated and hugged Hermione and Theo.

"I'm not done with this announcement by the way," Harry laughed.

"What else is there?" Daphne asked curiously.

Harry smiled and picked up Draco's badge from the table. He handed it back and said, "Auror Draco Malfoy, not only have you been promoted to a Class I Auror, you have also received the Ministry Star. It was awarded to you by the powers that be for bravery in the face of battle."

Draco was stunned as he took the badge with shaking hands, "Thank you," he said, his voice catching slightly in his throat.

"You deserve it," Ron said, gripping Draco's shoulder and smiling at him, "You fought well in that battle mate. You nearly died to stop him."

Draco looked down at the shining star on his badge and took a deep breath, "I can almost believe that I became an Auror and got a silver star. But I definitely can't believe that you're telling me I deserve it."

Ron chortled at this and Harry grinned. He tapped the final badge on the table and handed it to Ron, "And this is for you Ron. You've been awarded a Ministry star too for exceptional bravery in the face of battle."

Ron wasn't expecting it and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he looked at the badge in his hand, "I've been given a star," He said incredulously.

"You don't have to sound so surprised Ron," Susan chuckled, "What you did in that last case was amazing. You deserve it."

Hermione smiled at them all, "You all deserve the credit that you got. You were all amazing."

Ron smiled, and slipped the badge proudly into his pocket.

Susan turned her gaze away from him and said, "So on behalf of everyone here, I'm sure we are all dying to know Harry; when did you and Draco decide to admit your undying love for one another?"

"Oh they did that years ago," Daphne grinned, "I mean we can go back to 2nd year I think. That was when Draco made me tag along with him for an entire week following Harry. Apparently it was because he thought Harry was the heir of Slytherin."

Hermione choked on her water in amusement, and Harry shot _his_ best friend a warning look.

"Now that's odd," Hermione said when she recovered, "Because _I_ recall Harry and Ron enlisting my help to brew polyjuice potion so they could transform into Crabbe and Goyle and question Draco to figure out if he was the heir of Slytherin."

"Well he was bragging about it!" Harry said as his cheeks flushed slightly.

Ron nodded his agreement, "Yeah, I was totally with you on that one mate. I was sure it was Malfoy, it was only you who actually trusted him Hermione!"

"I didn't _trust_ him," Hermione said, "I just didn't think a smarmy 12-year-old who walked around with his chest puffed out was capable of unleashing a beast that's main purpose was to kill people and I turned out to be right, just like I was right in 6th year."

"No, I was right in 6th year," Harry argued, "I told you all on the train to Hogwarts that he was a Death Eater and you two _laughed_ at me, and low and behold he was! I told you he was up to something, that it was him who cursed Katie and you said I was paranoid, but I was right _again_."

"Yeah only because you literally spent the entire year following him," Ron snorted, "Every second of free time you were off following him!"

"And then you barely slept because you were always looking at him on that map of yours while you were in bed," Neville grinned.

"You did watch him on the map every night mate," Ron said, "I was getting concerned to be honest."

"It was at its worst when Draco wouldn't play Quidditch that year," Neville teased.

Ron snorted in amusement, and Hermione grinned, "Yes, it was along the lines of oh he's up to something, somethings wrong, Malfoy looks so down all of the time!"

"Malfoy would never miss a Quidditch game!" Neville chipped in.

Draco was beside himself with laughter as he and the others had watched this conversation take place between the Gryffindors. He grinned at Harry who was now thoroughly pink faced as he took the burgers and sausages off of the barbeque.

"I'm not going to feed you lot if you keep this up," Harry said, he was amused, despite all of the teasing.

"Oh go on, feed us," Theo grinned, "We've got just as much dirt on Draco as they all do on you."

Harry smirked as he put a couple of plates of food on the table, "Alright then, spill."

"Uh, no," Draco said sharply, "Don't."

Daphne and Theo shared a smirk, and Daphne said, "Well 1st year he mostly complained. See Potter, strutting around the school like he owns the place! He's not even a pureblood, his Mother was a muggle-born you know? It's shocking!"

Theo grinned, "And then there was that phase when he thought you were the heir of Slytherin. That was interesting, more along the lines of, I wonder if I can recruit Potter. If he really is the heir of Slytherin we could become friends, you know I really think we could take over the wizarding world together. Potter and Malfoy - we could be the next Grindelwald."

Harry's grin had widened in amusement, and Draco appeared to be hiding his face.

"Then there was that time when he had a suspicion you were following him in 6th year," Daphne added, "He wasn't sure if you knew what he was doing or if you had a crush on him and were stalking him and both made him equally nervous."

"And 4th and 5th year in general," Theo grinned, "That was when he went from look at Potter with his broomstick and his scar, people think he's so special! - to - why do all of these girls like Potter? It's not like he's much of a catch, I mean yes he's rather good looking and I can understand why his heroics might amount to sex appeal but really?"

"As if Cedric Diggory and Potter are a thing," Daphne joined in, "I mean Diggory is clearly gay, but come on Potter has got to be straight."

"And the famous, what? Potter and Chang?" Theo said through his laughter, "Honestly, what is he dating that skank for? He could do _so_ much better, and I don't mean Weaslette!"

Harry wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes, and Hermione, Ron and Neville were doubled over with laughter as well. He was still chuckling as he said, "Merlin, so we can probably gather that Draco and I have fancied each other for bloody years then, yes?"

"Yes!" Their friends called collectively.

Draco shook his head and Harry grinned when he noticed that the Slytherin was bright red, "Cheer up Draco, it's only a bit of good natured ribbing. Have a burger."

"Why did I ever think this was a good idea?" Draco muttered as he took the plate from Harry.

"Because Uncle Harry is the best," Teddy said brightly as he grabbed a sausage from the plate, "Aunt Ginny says he makes the best boyfriend."

"Does she?" Harry asked in surprise.

Teddy nodded thoughtfully, "She said it in a funny voice though."

Ron snorted with laughter, "That funny voice is called sarcasm Teddy."

"Now that sounds more accurate," Harry said with an amused glance at Ron.

"Oh," Teddy frowned, "Adults are confusing."

"Yes, they are Teddy," Hermione chuckled.

Harry sat down on a deck chair next to Draco and grinned radiantly at him, "Now this is a good life isn't it?"

Draco smiled slightly as Teddy clambered up onto his lap, "Yes, it is."

 _ **THE END :)**_

 _ **A/N: Or is it? To epilogue or not to epilogue? That is the question.**_

 _ **So I'm putting the question to you guys. Would you like an epilogue? And if so, what kind of epilogue do you want? Are we talking 6 months later, a year, 5?**_

 _ **Opinions lovely readers?**_


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